[Red Mansions] The Road to Empress Dowager

The congregation below also didn't love Liu Qing and other eight brothers that much, most of them just followed blindly and didn't have much opinion.But there are also many small bosses who are also treacherous people, and they are the same as them, so of course they are not convinced.

At this time, Mrs. Zhang's two sons stood up and said they supported Mr. Duan's suggestion, saying that Mr. Duan was a scholar and knew more than them.Auntie Zhang's two sons are also small bosses, and there are dozens of villagers from the same village as Auntie Zhang, all of whom are low-level people.

In this way, coupled with Mr. Chen's twenty or so bodyguards who already know some martial arts, Xin Xiuyan's actual fundamentals are actually stronger when facing those treacherous little bosses.

Xin Xiuyan has no intention of being the leader of a peasant uprising. Whether it is real history or fiction, she doesn't think the White Lotus Sect has any future.This is similar to the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and the Boxers.

But what is "potential"!In life, you are often only given "single-choice questions".

At this time, her side is faintly powerful, while the other side is slightly weaker, but if the people who support her see that she is still swaying and unable to support the wall, then the morale of her side will weaken.However, people who have no independent opinions are psychologically biased towards opponents, and the change of momentum is instantaneous. ——Either take advantage of the situation to be a winner, or take advantage of the situation and loser to be a bandit.

Xin Xiuyan is really not an ordinary girl in the backyard. Although she has no interest in Gongdou Zhaidou, she has some talent for the art of vertical and horizontal, and she is familiar with the subtle rules of this "momentum".

Indecisiveness leads to disaster.

So, she stepped forward with a knife, walked up to Mr. Duan, and said loudly: "Yanxiu, thank you Mr. Duan and all brothers for your kindness! Since this is the case, Yanxiu will do her part! Who is not convinced?"

If Mr. Duan were to be the leader, there would not be so many opponents, but Yanxiu, a girl who killed the former leader, would immediately have four deputy leaders and more than a dozen minor bosses dissatisfied.

Xin Xiuyan is riding a tiger, she understands that if she wants to be the boss, she must unite her friends and defeat her enemies.Her enemy is very clear, that is, the eight people including Liu Qing who she killed.To make her murder reasonable, she must become the representative of the interests of the broadest class among the congregation at this time, and then eliminate Liu Qing's stubborn remnants.

So Xin Xiuyan said: "Everyone joined the White Lotus Sect, and originally wanted to live a good life! But Commander Liu and a few leaders oppressed the brothers and sisters in the sect, and their methods were more cruel than the landlords and the officers and soldiers! You idiot, you can't protect the brothers and sisters in the church, you can only bully the good in the nest! So, I will clean up the door for the brothers and sisters in the church!"

There were hundreds of people present, but everyone heard what Yanxiu, a delicate girl, said.Many lower-level people who have been oppressed by Commander Liu and several leaders feel sympathy.

Xin Xiuyan saw that she was in control of the field and took the position of "director". Immediately, she pointed her knife at a deputy leader who opposed her, and said, "Did you help Commander Liu bully the brothers and sisters in the church before?"

"I didn't..." The deputy leader shook his head in denial.

"He has!" Suddenly one of the disciples below shouted, "He robbed my family of money and molested my sister!"

Xin Xiuyan's eyes turned cold, and she made another swift move of "snake poking sword technique", the leader was too late to block, the knife was stabbed in her chest, and blood spattered on the spot.

Xin Xiuyan drew out the saber, the deputy leader fell to the ground and died, and one of his companions was furious and attacked with a saber.

Mr. Duan looked at this companion and thought to himself: Idiot!

But seeing that Xin Xiuyan made the same stab again, only one stab, the other party couldn't outrun her, and then fell to the ground and died.

Killing two people one after another, everyone in the audience was shocked.

Blood is Liwei's best tool.

Mr. Duan immediately said loudly, "Please ask Yanxiu to be our new leader!"

Many people followed and shouted: "Please Yanxiu as the new commander!"

"Please ask Yanxiu to be the new leader!"

Even though Mr. Chen and his servants and bodyguards knew that they came here to support Yanxiu, they were still dumbfounded when they saw such a change.It's not that they don't want to escape, but if they escape, these hundreds of people will have the same goal, which is to catch up with them and avenge Commander Liu.Then, most of the people from Commander Liu's family became the new commanders, and they still couldn't escape.

In this way, Xin Xiuyan became the leader of this group of Bailian Religious Army.In order to stabilize people's hearts, she ordered Mr. Duan to take a son of Mrs. Zhang and Zhang Hu, the former bodyguard, to the houses of Commander Liu and several leaders to collect their privately hidden gold and silver treasures.

At the moment, a "complaint meeting" was held, but if it was revealed that Commander Liu and the others had bullied the congregants under him, pensions would be issued according to the severity of the circumstances.The remaining gold and silver will be distributed equally to all the congregants, and there will be another heavy reward for Mr. Duan, Mrs. Zhang and their two sons.Now everyone feels that the new leader "loves the people like a son and acts justly", and everyone supports him.

After finishing all this, it was already three days later.

However, Xin Xiuyan invited Mr. Duan, Chen Yi, Zhang Hu, Sun Fang and others to discuss matters.

Xin Xiuyan paced back and forth in the room with her hands behind her back and scratched her hair. When she saw them coming, she hurriedly poured tea for them and invited them to sit down.

Mr. Duan also said politely: "It is good for the commander to sit and the subordinates to stand."

Xin Xiuyan smiled wryly and said, "Old Duan, don't talk to me, sit down."

When the others saw Mr. Duan sitting down, they also sat down.

Xin Xiuyan sighed, and said: "Old Duan, we cooperated to escape that day, do you think now is the time for us to leave?"

Mr. Duan said with a smile: "I'm afraid that everyone in the rebel army will return to their hearts, and they will not be willing to lead at this time."

Xin Xiuyan patted the table and said, "You can still laugh? At that time, someone recommended you to be the new commander, but you pushed it to me, which made me in a dilemma now. You think you are a scholar, but I am also a good citizen!"

Mr. Duan sighed, "Then what do you want?"

Xin Xiuyan thought for a while and said: "I want everyone to break up, divide up the things in the warehouse, let the brothers break up and go back to their hometowns, and Mr. Chen and I will go back to Jiangnan."

Chen Yi's eyes lit up, and it was a lie to say that he didn't want to go home, but it's not so easy to go back.He no longer wants to do those things, but will the congregation let them go?There is still some way to Luzhou, so they won't meet other congregants?

Mr. Duan said, "I'm afraid it won't be easy."

Before Xin Xiuyan could refute, Mr. Duan said again: "Commander Yan, the hometown of the congregation has been looted long ago. If they return to their hometown, they may be burned, killed and looted by other rebels. And their identities, If you meet the officers and soldiers, it will not end well. These heads are all military exploits."

In other words, now that soldiers are turned into civilians, no matter whether they meet other rebels or government soldiers, they will not end well.These low-level people in the rebel army don't understand anything else, but they have seen it a lot in the past few months. Most of them are survivors of several catastrophes.If you don't want to die, you must have a gun in your hand, which is similar to what Mao/Grandpa said.

Xin Xiuyan said: "Then you said you wanted to run away with me, you didn't want to tarnish your reputation for the rest of your life."

Mr. Duan said: "If I can escape, why don't I escape? There are many rebels from the White Lotus Sect nearby. When we are alone and alone, can we escape safely?"

Xin Xiuyan stepped forward with her hands behind her back and said, "But I don't believe in the White Lotus Sect, how can I dance with them for a long time?"

Xin Xiuyan tapped her fingers on the table, her mind was racing, she punched the table, and said, "Brothers, now we are grasshoppers on a rope, we have to work together if we want to survive."

Chen Yidao: "With the current situation, we naturally follow the lead of Yan girl."

Zhang Hu and Sun Fang also echoed.

Shin Soo-yeon said, "First of all, it won't work if you want to completely separate from these people and leave safely, will you?"

Mr. Duan nodded: "It's more difficult." A good person sits at home, and the disaster comes from the sky. Mr. Duan, who was kidnapped and used as an accountant, has experienced it himself.

Xin Xiuyan said again: "I asked you to join the White Lotus Sect, but you don't want to, don't you?"

Chen Yidao: "Although my Chen family is not a scholarly family, my reputation cannot be ruined by me."

Mr. Duan said: "When I cooperated with the leader, I just couldn't see Liu Qing's thieves' style. It would be over sooner or later."

Xin Xiuyan said: "Since we deny these two, we have no choice but to open up a third way. If we can't escape or separate, then we will reform them and reform our rebel army."

Mr. Duan was stunned: "Reform? How?"

Xin Xiuyan said: "We want to become an organized, disciplined, idealized, and educated rebel army. Rape/fornication/robbing like other White Lotus Sects is not acceptable. We also need to tell brothers why it is not possible to do that, and gradually make a difference. In the end, we will accept the imperial court’s recruitment. We have hundreds of people, please ask the imperial court to give us a guard, and we can become legal military households, half soldiers and half peasants.”

Mr. Duan's eyes flashed and he said, "Does the commander think that the imperial court will recruit security?"

Xin Xiuyan looked at Chen Yi and said, "Young Master Chen, of course the brothers in the army will not let us go, but staying longer will change the three views of the brothers. Even if I can't leave, I can send you away. You As an imperial merchant, I always know a few officials and eunuchs, and I went to report the reasons and asked them to help the court, I think the court will not kill us all."

In the ancient courts, all the real bandits were recruited by officials, and the cost of exterminating them was not small.

Everyone looked at Chen Yi, and Chen Yi said: "If everything is as Miss Yan said, then I will get it done if I put my life into it."

Xin Xiuyan understood that a wealthy son like Chen Yi and a Confucian scholar like Mr. Duan would never agree with the White Lotus Sect.

Although she "has just traveled through", she also knows that this superficial era has not yet arrived like the late Yuan and Ming Dynasties, and the peasant uprising in ancient times was at best a Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

Of course there is another way, but it is too cruel.Now that she is the leader, she kills them with points and kills them all, then the chances of them escaping to Luzhou are much higher. If they encounter another group of rebels who rob them, they will pretend to be Bailian Those who teach, if you don't let them go, you will do it again.

Xin Xiuyan wanted to do this kind of vicious trick but couldn't do it.Now people in the army really have a few respects for her, she has a soft heart.

This set the main tone of ideology, at least Xin Xiuyan has a real hard-core ally, otherwise she is alone and helpless.She bears the name of a witch, and in the future the court will kill her quickly, but others can forgive her at her discretion, so she, a "false white lotus", will not be too wronged.

She won the hearts of the lower class because of sharing Liu Qing's money with them, but those people are so ignorant that she really wants to do something but it doesn't work because they are too incompetent.If you become hardcore allies with these talented people and unify your ideology, then you can do a lot.

Sichuan is also an important town. To deter the vassal chieftain Uszang, the current Jiedushi inherits his father's position and has great power. The governor appointed by the imperial court cannot compete with him, let alone the officials below him.The power of the current Jiedu officials is all over the middle of Sichuan. The family power in the south of the Yangtze River is intertwined, and the land annexation is more serious, but the people underneath are getting more and more miserable.The White Lotus Sect has always been widely spread among the people in central Sichuan. The more miserable the people are, the better the soil for the development of the White Lotus Sect.At last, some religious people rose up and got out of control.

Xin Xiuyan reorganized the personnel again. There were more than 700 men, women and children together. Therefore, Xin Xiuyan organized the personnel into three combat companies, one logistics company, one directly under the security platoon, and one children's regiment.

She spent a lot of time explaining the benefits of this weaving to them, at least the name is much more comfortable.The peasants are confused about the official ranks, but it is not difficult for them to recite a few words: platoons, companies, battalions, regiments, brigades, divisions, and troops.

The current rebel army, although the symbol of the White Lotus Sect has not been completely removed, but Xin Xiuyan personally wrote the four characters "Tianxia Datong" on their military flag, and officially called themselves the "Great Harmony Army".Don't wonder why she writes so well in calligraphy, of course she inherited her predecessor, is she going to be hypocritical?

The Datong Army now has 740 six members, 43 men (140 children), 26 women ([-] children)

Battalion Commander: Yan Xiu

Military Advisor: Duan Zhi

Deputy Battalion Commander: Zhang Shan (the eldest son of Mrs. Zhang)

First Combat Company: Company Commander Zhang Hu (former bodyguard division)

Combat Second Company: Company Commander Wu Dafu

Combat Three Companies: Company Commander Xu Changgui

The combat company is full of 30 people, governs three platoons, each platoon has [-] people, and the company commander has four guards.

Logistics company: company commander Chen Yi, with a full staff of 240 people, including a reinforced platoon of the Women's Army.

In fact, the old and the weak, women and children also belong to their own jurisdictions, and their duties and powers are clearly defined.

Company commanders and above are all "members" of the "Datong Army Military Committee" and have the right to express opinions and vote at the meeting.Xin Xiuyan spent a lot of time explaining this, and even Duan Zhi didn't quite understand it at first.

Afterwards, he realized that the battalion commander actually wanted to take the initiative to decentralize power to the "committee."

Xin Xiuyan wants to be willful, but she also understands that the more willful she is, the more she will become the target of public criticism. After the power is divided, people will oppose her. At most, she will step down and let others do it instead of being killed and replaced.There is a committee to decentralize powers, and those who oppose her will think of wooing other committee members to drive her down, because it is not easy for an ambitious person to kill all the committee members at once.

Xin Xiuyan has never been a soldier in modern times, so she knows a lot about these things, and she has read a lot of literature and history.

……

Kyoto Imperial Palace, Tai Chi Palace.

After Tu Yuanyi dealt with the backlog of government affairs, the sun had already set, but he heard that Zhao Quan had returned from Wuchang.Zhao Quan was sent to Xin Xiuyan's side in the early years. He belonged to Dongchang. Tu Yuanyi returned to Beijing from Wuchang, but he stayed there.

Tu Yuanyi hurriedly asked people to come into the hall. After Zhao Quan bowed down, Tu Yuanyi hurriedly asked: "But there is news about the queen?"

Zhao Quanzou said: "Congratulations to the saint! The empress is indeed still alive!"

Tu Yuanyi was overjoyed, clapped his palms and said, "I knew it! She won't just die like this... What's going on?"

Zhao Quan said: "On that day, I got some clues at the pier. After the emperor returned to Beijing, the slaves continued to track down who were some of the ships that docked at the pier that day, and then separately tracked down. This took a little longer. Among them are The two boats belonged to the Chen family of the Huangshang merchants in Hangzhou, and they wanted to transport some goods to several shops in Wuchang. My shopkeeper of the Chen family in Wuchang said that it was their young owner, Chen Yi, who went all the way down the Han River, near Shiyan. At that time, it also coincided with the day when the Empress Dowager fell into the water. And the shopkeeper also recognized the portrait, it was a Yanxiu girl who followed Mr. Chen."

Xin Xiuyan is also a rare beauty in the world, and her temperament is not accessible to ordinary people, so she is highly recognizable.

"Yanxiu?" Well, of course I use a pseudonym outside.

Tu Yuanyi asked again: "So where is the queen now? Why didn't she come back to the palace? But what happened?"

Zhao Quandao: "The shopkeeper said that my mother went to Shu to run a business with their young boss. Counting the days, it has been more than two months since I left Wuchang."

Xiuxiu is too playful, she is missing, don't you know that he will worry about her?

Tu Yuanyi suddenly thought again: Even if Xiuxiu is playful, she doesn't trust me and the three children, how could she not send any news back, but instead go to Sichuan to run a business?A wife and a mother would never do something like Xiuxiu.

Is there something else that he doesn't know about?

Tu Yuanyi vaguely had a bad guess. A beautiful woman fell outside and her reputation was ruined. She might also suffer...

Tu Yuanyi couldn't help feeling a pain in his heart, his hands clenched into fists, and his veins floated.

Although she was bold and indulgent, she was only facing him alone, but she understood the atmosphere of this era very well.

If those things happened, she would not be able to go home, nor would she dare to go back.

Tu Yuanyi ordered Zhao Quan to kneel down first, but he secretly shed tears for a while.After calming down, he summoned Ouyang Lei and Chunyu Bai.

When the second palace entered the Taiji Palace, it was almost completely dark.

Tu Yuanyi told them the news about the queen, and the second hero couldn't help being overjoyed.

Tu Yuanyi said: "I can't leave Beijing at this time, you two will go south to Wuchang, I think the queen will feel at ease seeing you, and you escort her back to Beijing."

Going back to Jiangnan from the middle of Sichuan, she had to go through Wuchang. After such a long time, she should be there, and someone from Dongchang stopped her.Xiuxiu was afraid of going home, so she should feel at ease seeing her friend bring his handwritten letter.

……

After establishing an organizational order, she wanted to reform the minds of the congregation.But before she had time to do this, there was a new crisis.

Another group of "Rebels" from the White Lotus Sect was attacked by the official army and fled to the "Datong Army" camp.Now if she has a clear stand against the Bailian sect painting circles, what if they attack in groups?The army is not well drilled.

At first glance, there were more than three hundred people in the defeated army, and it was thanks to them that they ran faster than rabbits, and the terrain in central Sichuan was complicated, and Sichuan and Yunnan ponies could not run fast.

The defeated army escaped from Leshan.

It was no longer Liu Qing that Commander Wang came to meet in the meeting hall, but a stunning young girl with eyes as big as copper bells.

Of course, Xin Xiuyan was not that stupid, she would single-handedly meet this commander Wang, but called together the military division and several company commanders, and she was more confident.

Commander Wang's eyes flashed with an evil light, and he said with a smile, "Stop joking, tell Liu Qing to come out and see me!"

Duan Zhi said: "Commander Wang, this is Miss Yan, our battalion commander. Commander Liu you mentioned is dead."

Commander Wang was taken aback and said, "Have you been attacked by the army too? Liu Qingzhan died?"

Liu Qing and others died at the hands of Xin Xiuyan, the whole Datong army knew it, and it was useless to conceal it at this time.

Xin Xiuyan said: "Liu Qing was arrogant and rude, oppressed the congregation, unpopular, I killed him for the brothers and sisters in the congregation."

Commander Wang jumped up and said, "Liu Qing was brought out by me, you dare to kill him?"

Xin Xiuyan looked at him indifferently: "If you kill it, you kill it, so what?"

Facing this kind of person who has no quality, culture and culture, it is very important to pretend to be aggressive. On the contrary, the more talented people are, the more you can't pretend to be with him.

Commander Wang clapped the case and said angrily: "You kill people and stand on your own, General Li will not agree! You are a woman, what qualifications do you have to be a commander?"

Xin Xiuyan knew that losing is not losing, so she slapped the table with all her strength, but she didn't expect the table to fall apart.The audience was horrified.

Xin Xiuyan didn't have the time to be horrified by the fact that she was a girl of strange strength, her hands hurt so much, her heart burst into tears, and she still had to hold back her face.

Xin Xiuyan said fiercely: "I am the master of my territory! My old lady kindly took you in for the sake of being a teacher. You remember your identity. You are a defeated general. What right do you have to dictate to your aunt?"

Sure enough, the morale of the committee members of the Datong Army was greatly shaken, so that they would not be turned into the main force.

Duan Zhi smoothed things over at the right time and said: "Commander Wang, we said that the battalion commander didn't mean anything else, that is, your department and our department's internal affairs do not interfere with each other, but they belong to the same religion. Since you are here, although we are poor, our It should still be entertained."

Commander Wang was already very hungry at this time, and seeing Xin Xiuyan's slap, he felt that she was a bit wicked, so it's better not to fall out again at this time.

Commander Wang said: "What you said is quite reasonable, the brothers under me are all hungry."

Xin Xiuyan said: "Let's talk after dinner first, Company Commander Chen, take Commander Wang and others down for dinner."

But after temporarily taking in more than 300 people led by Wang, the crisis is also in front of Xin Xiuyan.With so many mouths to eat, there is not enough food in the first place, and famine will cause big troubles.

It is also August at this time, and it is impossible to grow rice, and it will not be possible to wait for a season of rice to mature.

So, she discussed with everyone again, and the goal of this village was too obvious.Not only was there no food, Wang Lingtong fled here, and the officers and soldiers probably knew about it.

The officers and soldiers didn't come to kill, but because the White Lotus Sect was blooming everywhere, they haven't figured it out yet.Sichuan is too big, and the forbidden army and the guards together have a maximum of 10 people.Listening to a lot, the division of the army can't stir up a single splash.In modern history, the Japanese army added millions to the puppet army, and the Rabbit Army still built the rear—as long as it escaped the big raid.

Chen Yi said, "But if we leave this village, where shall we go?"

Duan Zhi said, "Where to go is the second priority. We don't have that much food for the winter."

Xin Xiuyan said: "Please two, I came to discuss with you, not to ask you to repeat my questions."

Duan Zhi smiled lightly: "The battalion commander is really worried about the brothers, he regards this as his own home."

Yanxiu said: "Actually, they are not bad people. Besides, if they are successfully recruited, we can probably become officials, hehe. Uh... these are too far away, let's get back to the topic."

Everyone cheered up when they heard that they were officials. Zhang Shan, the deputy battalion commander, said, "Why don't you go to our village? We have paddy fields and mountains in our village. Now go and plant a season of corn and then radishes. Get through the winter."

When he asked where his hometown was, but it was near Mabian, Duan Zhi thought for a moment and said, "It's far away from the capitals of Leshanwei and Luzhouwei, and the Imperial Army will not march from Chengdu to attack a few of us. A rebel army of a hundred people." There are a lot of white lotus rebels with hundreds of people, so there is no reason why they are so unlucky.

Xin Xiuyan thought it was good, but she still had to make careful arrangements for the march to the southwest.