PDLP Chapter 559: Vulnerable to a single blow
Chapter 559: Vulnerable to a single blow
the answer is negative.
Even mid-level martial artists dared not confront the army head-on, let alone the low-level martial artists from the landlord's family in Liangshan County.
Under normal circumstances, if a martial artist of the lower third rank wanted to escape, it wouldn't be difficult for the Yang family army to capture or kill him.
After all, martial artists are physically strong and fast, making it very difficult for a large army to catch up with them.
But the martial artists in the landlord's house... they can't escape!
When the Yang family army stormed into the landlord's house, these martial artists had no choice but to confront the army head-on.
The outcome of the battle was obvious: even an immature army like the Yang Family Army at the time was still overwhelmingly superior to martial artists.
The landlord's house, where resistance was attempted, was soon stained with blood—not only the blood of the martial artists, but also the blood of other members of the landlord's family…
To make an example of the landlord and deter other landlords, Yang Zheng took drastic measures, exterminating the entire family of the landlord who resisted, leaving no one alive!
After that, the Yang family army's raids on homes became much smoother. Most landlords in Liangshan County chose to give away their wealth to save their lives when faced with the Yang family army. Of course, some landlords and powerful families were unwilling to give up their wealth and chose to put up a stubborn resistance.
Yang Zheng's response was also very simple and direct: exterminate the entire clan!
No one in Yang's army had any goodwill towards the landlords. The reason they only confiscated property and did not kill anyone was simply because Yang Zheng could not bear to cause too much bloodshed. However, when it came to landlords who dared to resist him, Yang Zheng did not waste any words and his army instantly razed their houses to the ground.
Of course, Yang Zheng didn't treat all landlords this way. For some landlords who were truly kind to the people, Yang Zheng would choose to let them go.
The premise is that... the landlord's kindness is genuine, not a pretense of kindness!
After spending a full month confiscating the property of all the wealthy and unscrupulous landlords in Liangshan County and acquiring sufficient supplies, Yang Zheng began to focus on training his troops.
He knew very well that defeating the Liangzhou army was just the beginning, and there would inevitably be more fierce battles to come!
While Yang Zheng was fully engaged in training his troops, news of his defeat of the Liangzhou army and his occupation of Liangshan County began to spread throughout the land. In an instant, Yang Zheng's reputation... or rather, his fearsome reputation, shook the world.
In places where public opinion is completely controlled by powerful clans, Yang Zheng's fearsome reputation in Liangzhou can even stop children from crying at night.
As for the imperial court... they could no longer sit idly by.
Yang Zheng not only rebelled, but also defeated the Liangzhou army and occupied the entire Liangshan Prefecture, equivalent to one-third of Liangzhou's territory. With such a powerful rebel force, the imperial court could not possibly let him go unchecked.
So, in the spring of the following year, the imperial court appointed Marquis Zhongyong as the commander-in-chief and led 25 troops from the capital garrison to Liangzhou to quell the rebellion!
Another great battle broke out, with 25 troops of the Beijing Garrison facing off against 20 troops of the Yang Family Army. The result was astonishing to everyone.
To everyone else, the victory of the government troops should have been a matter of course; the government troops were better equipped, had longer training time, and their generals had more combat experience...
It can be said that, on paper, the government forces were superior to the Yang family army in every aspect of their strength.
However, the final result was that the 25-strong capital garrison suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of the Yang family army and was directly buried in Liangzhou.
This outcome shocked everyone, from ordinary citizens to high-ranking officials. Even Yang Zheng and other high-ranking members of the Yang family army were extremely surprised, as they had prepared for a fierce battle and even planned to defend the city to the death...
But to everyone's surprise, the renowned Beijing garrison was so utterly vulnerable...
Later, Yang Zheng and other high-ranking members of the Yang Family Army realized that sharp weapons and sturdy armor could not make an army invincible. What truly made an army invincible was courage, fighting spirit, and the willingness of soldiers to fight bravely on the battlefield!
The soldiers of the Yang Family Army lacked sophisticated equipment and were practically penniless, but they had no shortage of courage to fight to the death!
Thanks to Yang Zheng's act of opening the granaries and distributing grain, these men who joined the Yang family army unleashed an astonishing fighting spirit after eating their fill. Having finally managed to eat their fill, they were unwilling to return to their previous state of hunger. Therefore, in order to protect their hard-won happy life, these men dared to draw their swords and slash at any enemy, even if the opponent was the renowned Beijing garrison army, they did not lack the courage to charge.
In contrast, the imperial army of 25 men was led by sons of powerful and wealthy families who were afraid of death, while the soldiers were mostly old, weak, sick, and disabled men who were brought into the camps because the generals were embezzling salaries...
How can such an army fight a war?
The 25-strong government army arrived quickly, but collapsed even faster. After only a few small battles, the high command of the Yang family army realized the government army was no match for them. They then launched a full-scale attack and crushed the government army in one fell swoop, causing the 25-strong army to disappear completely in Liangzhou. Even the commander-in-chief, Marquis Zhongyong, committed suicide in grief and indignation.
From then on, no force within Liangzhou could threaten the Yang family army. Thus, Yang Zheng began to expand his territory, leading his army north from Liangshan County and occupying the entire Liangzhou.
The people undoubtedly welcomed Yang Zheng's expansion of territory. The people living in Liangzhou had all heard the nursery rhyme "Welcome King Yang, King Yang will bring you plenty of food," and were therefore very happy for Yang Zheng to become the ruler of their land.
On the other hand, the landlords and powerful families were all devastated. They knew very well about Yang Zheng's confiscation of the landlords' property in Liangshan County. They knew that once Yang Zheng occupied the entire Liangzhou, their property would also be confiscated.
The landlords and powerful families were naturally reluctant to part with their wealth, so they contributed money and manpower to help the local government recruit local militia to defend the city, attempting to slow down the expansion of the Yang family army.
However, this was all in vain. The Yang family army, which had just defeated the imperial army, was in high spirits. Ordinary local militias were no match for them. In less than two months, the Yang family army occupied the entire Liangzhou region, and Yang Zheng... became the true King of Liangzhou!
This is the story of Yang Zheng's journey from a lowly cowherd to the renowned King of Liangzhou.
Looking back, I can't help but sigh.
Three years ago, Yang Zheng would never have imagined that he would rebel, let alone that he would go from being a cowherd to the General Yang he is today.
The reason he stood up to rebel was entirely because he was forced by this despicable world. If the imperial court and those landlords had not refused to leave him any way out, why would he and his companions, such as Yang Erlang, have risked losing their heads to rebel?
Faced with persecution by the powerful, Yang Zheng did not stand up and fight back like those people who would rather starve to death than resist!