He Huchen’s prediction is not outrageous.
Chaos first spread from the area around Yuhe Zhongqiao. The "rebels" captured Zhan Shifu, and then began burning, killing, and looting, all the way to Hongchang Hutong and Yuhe Nanqiao.
He Renlong could not control the soldiers in Jiangbei Town, and those soldiers would not obey his arrangements.
This batch of soldiers in Jiangbei Town are partly from the old soldiers brought by Liu Baichuan from Ningxia Town, and partly from new soldiers recruited by him in Xuzhou and Yanzhou.
The control of Cai Lie, Liu Baichuan's nephew, was obviously not enough. The soldiers were stationed near the middle bridge of Yuhe River. After eating the steamed cakes they carried with them, they began to ask for supplies from the surrounding large households.
One or two households got along well after providing supplies. When the owner of one household in Nanxunfang was Zhou Huicui, a Shanxi scholar from Hanlin Academy who was an editor, they were flatly refused and did not say anything, and the editor also humiliated and abused him. These soldiers caused great anger among these soldiers.
However, before entering the capital, these soldiers were repeatedly warned that they must obey orders and prohibitions and not disturb the people in the capital.
But for the big-headed soldiers, things like military discipline depend on the situation. Previously, the big families received them politely and asked their servants to send some steamed cakes and some hot water. The soldiers were also satisfied, and even I also thanked him a lot, and everyone seemed to be happy and peaceful.
However, when they met this big family member of Zhou Dynasty, this family already had a very bad impression of warriors, but they didn't expect to be "blackmailed" at their door, so they were naturally upset.
A burst of scolding and humiliation provoked a siege from the soldiers.
But Editor Zhou Huicui also had a sharp mouth and a sharp head. Facing the surging anger of the soldiers, he still kept spouting angrily. Several women even rushed to the door to cheer for their master.
I don’t know who fired that shot, but I heard a crisp sound. Editor Zhou stood in front of the door and originally wanted to curse, but he saw a dark red stain floating on the chest of the purple-brown gown. But he could only stagger and hold his chest, holding the stone lion in front of the door with his other hand. He wanted to curse again, but no more words came out.
Amid everyone's frightened and flustered eyes, the editor Zhou wanted to walk back, but failed to cross the threshold and collapsed to the ground amidst the exclamations of a group of women.
At this moment, the whole time seemed to have stopped.
But it exploded immediately. Since the shot was fired and an officer was killed, the wildness, fear and even violence of the soldiers were suddenly aroused.
I don’t know who took the lead first. A group of soldiers rushed in with guns and weapons. Amid the screams and cries of women and children, they broke into Editor Zhou’s mansion. In less than half an hour, they looted everything and finally set it on fire. A raging fire burned it down.
Once this kind of thing got started, it quickly evolved into a region-wide riot.
Seeing the "rebels" in Jiangbei Town looting and plundering everywhere, the soldiers in Denglai Town were already eager to try. Fortunately, He Renlong and Gao Jie were both there, and they could barely suppress the situation, but they both knew that. If the deadlock at the front cannot be broken, the soldiers at the rear who cannot suppress their anger and desires will sooner or later follow in the footsteps of the "rebellious army" in Jiangbei Town.
This situation is not only happening at the Yuhe Middle Bridge and South Bridge in the east, but also in the stalemate between Yang Zhaoji and Liu Kangdou, Mao Chenglu and others in the west, and they influence each other.
When the east heard that the west had been shooting and looting, the irrepressible wildness and violence soon broke out, and it also turned into robbery.
Fortunately, the border towns still carefully selected the troops that went to Beijing. They were all with relatively good military discipline and strong general control. However, even so, under certain circumstances, atrocities still occurred one after another.
When the sky gets brighter, it may be that this kind of behavior is easier to witness in broad daylight, so the behavior of these troops is slightly restrained, but no one can guarantee what will happen until tonight.
Everyone is aware that the risks of danger are increasing dramatically.
He Renlong was the first to realize this. He brought five thousand soldiers and horses with him. He thought he had the strongest control and could enforce orders and prohibitions. He also had his deputy Gao Jie with him. However, after seeing Jiangbei Town rapidly evolve into A group of violent soldiers did not finish their looting until dawn and calmed down a little. However, his subordinates were already eager to try and seemed unable to restrain themselves.
She didn't know how long she could control this group of subordinates on her own, especially since Gao Jie was also complaining and teasing in private. This made He Renlong angry and anxious. Why didn't even this guy know how to be serious?
Feng Ziying really did not expect that the situation would evolve into such an uncontrollable situation. He thought that Cao Wenzhao's Beijing camp was in charge, Yang Zhaoji and He Huchen were also his cronies, and the troops coming from all sides were all close to him and All the ministries involved had also specially greeted each other before. The purpose of coming here is very simple, to force the palace. As for saying these words about Qing Junzi, it is just a matter of words. It can scare these stubborn old people and force them to make concessions. However, I never thought that these border troops would enter the city. Then it became so difficult to control.
Feng Ziying realized that she had underestimated the impact disarmament would have on the entire border military system from top to bottom.
With the disarmament of the 400,000-strong army, almost 40% of the troops will be laid off, and the soldiers in the border towns are almost all from the poorest areas. Even the Xuzhou Yanzhou soldiers recruited by Jiangbei Town are basically from poor places in the mountainous areas. .
Now they are suddenly asked to put down their swords and guns and go back to their hometowns to dig in the soil again. How can they, who have long been accustomed to their military career, accept this?
It can be said that even generals such as He Renlong, Mao Chenglu, and Geng Jimao still have great anger and humiliation deep in their hearts.
When you were fighting to the death with the Japanese, Mongols, Jurchens, and rebels on the border for the country, did you remember us?
At this moment, after finally getting two years of peace and tranquility, we are about to kick out a bunch of people who sweat and bleed and work hard. Moreover, even the settlement fee is said to be withheld and divided into several years. How can we bear this?
Full of resentment and anger, it can be said that from the moment they set foot on the road to Beijing, many people had the intention of making a big fuss.
Anyway, he was ordered to enter Beijing by his superiors. Although he had been told not to act rashly, after entering Beijing, everything was out of his control.
Unless we get a solid and reliable guarantee, the sword of disarmament hanging over everyone's heads will never be taken away, and it may fall at any time, turning everyone from a proud soldier to a disgraced soldier who goes home hungry and full in the blink of an eye. farmer.
It is this strong sense of crisis and disillusionment that makes the soldiers particularly angry.
Especially after entering the capital, I encountered the blank stares and cold treatment from the officials and people in the city. It was not until I waved my swords and guns that I realized that these people suddenly changed their attitude and became polite and even flattering. This huge change in roles made They have a completely new understanding of the world.
When others are not willing to give it to you, you can use the weapons in your hands to fight for it. This seems to be a natural thing, so when the soldiers in Jiangbei Town set fire to and looted, they were still under the restraints of He Renlong and Gao Jie The somewhat timid Denglai soldiers began to feel excited and excited.
The same situation also occurred among the troops entering Beijing from Liaodong, Dongjiang, Ji Town and Shanxi Town. Only the Xuanfu Town led by You Shilu was in a slightly better situation, but it was obviously difficult to stand alone and it was difficult to reverse the situation.
"The situation is difficult to control?" Feng Ziying didn't care much at this time, and directly asked Ni Er, who came quietly from the back door to report, "Ni Er, tell me the truth, tell me what you saw, heard and guessed Everything in the assessment is told, and I want an accurate judgment: can they still control it, and which direction will the situation go?"
From the early stage of cooperating with Shuntian Mansion to guide the remnants of the White Lotus Sect to rebel and causing trouble, and then contacting Denglai and Dongjiang soldiers to guide them to pacify the remnants of the White Lotus Sect, Ni Er felt that this was also his highlight moment.
He can talk to Yin Jiahua of Shuntian Prefecture at any time, and here he also deals with General Denglai and the generals of Jiangbei. Even in the capital city, he is considered a prominent figure, but Ni Er also knows that in the eyes of many people, he is still That kind of gray character who is neither black nor white cannot be put on the stage.
But this time, even the men in the Shuntian government office had to give themselves some face. At the same time, they could freely move in and out of the Denglai Army and the Jiangbei Army. This pride was incomparable to others.
Ni Er has not visited Feng Ziying for a long time. He knows that his status is no longer suitable for him to come again, but now he is here again, and it is Xiao Feng, the chief minister, who personally receives him.
"Uh, Mr. Chief Assistant,..." Ni Er knelt on the ground and wiped his sweat. He was excited and nervous, but also a bit unspeakably proud. "The situation is very chaotic, and I don't dare to speak nonsense, but these The soldiers are indeed a little over the top. Once they use swords and guns, they may not be able to control it. Especially at night, some soldiers steal the wine and dare to say anything, do anything, and kill anyone. ,…"
“Can’t He Renlong and Cai Lie control themselves?” Feng Ziying asked coldly.
"Master He's side is a little better, but the tall man is still a little unruly. A group of people under him are shouting, saying that if the adults in the court don't give an answer today, he will come to the court to arrest him. The houses of the princes and their families have all been ransacked, let’s see if they are still stubborn..."
Haunting the mountain harrier Gaojie?
Feng Ziying felt a little bitter in her mouth.
When He Renlong recommended him, a fellow from Mizhi, he had the impression that in his previous life, one of the four towns in Jiangbei in the late Ming Dynasty was as famous as Huang Degong. Even Li Zicheng's wife, the Xing family, dared to steal. It goes without saying how brave this guy is. Metaphor.
Unexpectedly, this guy accidentally followed He Renlong and was recommended as the deputy commander-in-chief. He hesitated for a while, but He Renlong strongly recommended him, so he agreed. He didn't expect that this guy would actually come to Beijing now. coming.