Forty, pointing at Zheng Yanfu

  "What? You've rebelled? Who are you?" Zheng Yanfu was shocked and lost his color.

  At that time, the peasant uprising had not yet fully erupted, and those who dared to claim they had rebelled could only be some bandits and deserters. Zhu Yuanzhang said he had rebelled, which was equivalent to saying he was not a good person. How could Zheng Yanfu not be shocked?

  "Mind your own business!" Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and said: "I only asked you, do you want to know what to do after killing an official and rebelling?"

  Zheng Yanfu was surprised and uncertain, but he felt a sense of determination, confidence and calmness from Zhu Yuanzhang. When he said the two words "create rebellion", his expression was calm, his tone was steady, as if creating rebellion was a very ordinary thing. Moreover, when he started the rebellion, his confident and full-of-confidence appearance seemed to be telling Zheng Yanfu that his rebellion had been successful before, which made Zheng Yanfu involuntarily want to believe him.

  "What should we do then?" Zheng Yanfu asked.

  Zhu Yuanzhang stretched out two fingers and said, "To know what to do next, you must first ask about your ambition. After killing the officials and rebelling, you will get a sum of silver and grain from the county warehouse. You will have two choices: one is to take these goods and find a place to hide for the rest of your life, just to survive... If you choose this path, then you absolutely cannot bring any followers or brothers with you. Change your name, move to another county, and live in hiding. The result of doing so is that you will become a fugitive, without a household registration, and wherever you go, you can only be like a street rat, with everyone shouting and chasing after you."

  "Why can't I bring my brothers or subordinates along this road?" Zheng Yanfu asked strangely.

  Zhu Yuanzhang's face sank, and he said seriously: "Those days without a household registration, who would be arrested by the government at any time to be killed or sent to the army, are a heavy pressure for anyone. Your brother may go to the government tomorrow to betray you, using your head to exchange for a good citizen identity recognized by the government..."

  "This can't be... it's absolutely impossible!" Zheng Yanfu exclaimed loudly.

  Zhu Yuanzhang had a mocking expression on his face and looked at him coldly.

  After shouting twice, Zheng Yanfu slowly fell silent and finally lowered his head: "I won't take this road, I, Zheng Yanfu, will never be a street rat that everyone shouts at."

  Zhu Yuanzhang nodded in his heart, he knew Zheng Yanfu wouldn't choose this road, so he raised his second finger and said seriously: "The second road, Liangshan Marsh!"

  At the end of the Ming Dynasty, stories like "Water Margin" and "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" had been widely spread and deeply rooted in people's hearts. Especially among the poor common people, they all liked to gather around the storytelling masters after dinner and listen to one or two episodes. The recognition of heroic figures in "Water Margin" and "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" was extremely high among the folk.

  For example, in the sixth year of Chongzhen, Yang Jin-chao, an official from Wu'an County, Zhengde Prefecture, Henan Province, mentioned the names of several righteous army leaders in a memorial to Emperor Chongzhen: Jiǔ Wén Lóng (Nine-striped Dragon), Yī Zhàng Qīng (One-meter Green), Guān Suǒ (Guān Lock), Liú Bèi, Zhāng Fēi, Lǎo Zhāng Fēi (Old Zhang Fei), and Cáo Cāo (Luó Rǔ Cái). At that time, the leaders of the peasant uprising army were very fond of using the heroic names from "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" or "Water Margin" as their aliases during the uprising. On the one hand, this was to admire these heroes, and on the other hand, it was also to conceal their true names in order to avoid implicating their families.

  Zhu Yuanzhang had originally intended to ask Zheng Yufu if he wanted to be emperor, but the words got stuck in his throat and he changed it to "Water Margin Liangshan". Because he knew that someone like Zheng Yufu had limited vision and would never have thought of becoming emperor, so there was no point in asking. If he really stirred up Zheng's ambition to become emperor, it would not be conducive to control.

  "The four words 'Water Margin Liangshan' fell into Zheng Yanfu's ears, like a thunderbolt in the sky, and he stiffened all over, unable to help but say: 'Right! After killing the official and rebelling, I went to Liangshan to become a bandit...'"

  "Do you know where Liangshan is?" asked Zhu Yuanzhang with a smile.

  "Huh? You're going to Liangshan again? Are you kidding me?" Zheng Yanfu was furious.

  "Mount Liang is not in the world, but in your heart." Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and said: "As long as you have the idea of going to Mount Liang, you can build a Mount Liang yourself."

  Zheng Yanfu muttered to himself for a couple of sentences, his chest heaving with excitement. He had been fascinated by the heroic deeds of the Liangshan heroes in "Water Margin" since childhood and deeply resented not being born a few hundred years earlier so that he could join them. Now someone was telling him that he too could build his own Liangshan - how could he not be excited? He stopped speaking rudely to Zhu Yuanzhang and began to show respect, asking seriously: "Good fellow, please teach me, how can I build my own Liangshan? Where should I go to build it?"

  Zhu Yuanzhang thought to himself: Finally hooked, this person can be used by me.

  He fell silent for a moment, deliberately making Zheng Yanfu anxious, and more eager to hear his words. He then slowly said: "If you want to go up to Liangshan, first you must guarantee that after killing Zhang Deyao, you can retreat safely. Now I'll tell you how to safely escape from the siege of the government troops."

  He waved his hand and pointed in the direction of the county town, saying: "When you led hundreds of villagers to kill their way into the county town, you were all of one mind, everyone was fighting for survival..."

  "That's right, my brother and I are of one mind." Zheng Yanfu said.

  Zhu Yuanzhang gestured with his hands to outline a space the size of a house, and continued: "When you killed Zhang Douyao and opened the county warehouse, you would have obtained about this much grain and silver... At that time... your brothers and subordinates will no longer be united. Some of them will choose the first path, take the money and grain to find a place to live like mice. Some people will have the same idea as you, with the intention of going up to Liangshan. And what you need to do is to pick out those who have the same thoughts as you, and let them go with you."

  "How is this done?" Zheng Yanfu's face turned solemn, humbly seeking guidance.

  Zhu Yuanzhang smiled slightly and said, "Distribute all the silver, money, and grain that we just seized to them. Then let everyone disperse in different directions and agree to meet again at Tiger Head Mountain west of the city one day later."

  "Why should we do this?" Zheng Yanfu said in confusion, "Let them come with me, tie us together as one rope and escape together. If we encounter government soldiers, won't we have more strength to fight?"

  "No, no matter how thick the rope you carry, your arms can't lift more than your legs." Zhu Yuanzhang shook his head and said: "I just said that your two or three hundred mobs can be defeated by twenty soldiers. It's better to scatter and escape after looting, so the soldiers won't know which way to intercept, and they'll have to occupy the county town first and not pursue you for the time being. If you all walk together, the soldiers will not go to the county town, but will chase and kill you until you are completely eliminated."

  Zheng Yanfu nodded as if he understood but didn't really understand.

  "Meet again on Tiger Head Mountain after one day, this is the first test. People who have just killed officials and rebelled are in a state of frenzy and excitement, their whole body is in a state of agitation. But if you give them a night to think about it, some people will be afraid, some people will get money and food, and their minds will change... These people will not come again when they meet on the second day, so you don't need to take action, you can eliminate the people who are not determined in the team..."

  "Silk!" Zheng Yanfu took a deep breath, who was this person standing in front of him? He casually opened his mouth and actually came up with such a formidable plan, not only could it resolve the pursuit of the government troops, but also effortlessly reorganized his own team.

  He now really believes that Zhu Yuanzhang had rebelled before, and just this grasp of people's hearts is far beyond his reach.

  Zhu Yuanzhang continued, "The next day, after gathering on Tiger Head Mountain in the west of the city, you and your troops will be spotted by government soldiers again. At that time, disperse your troops once more and agree to meet five days later. This time... let's choose a location between Cheng City and Baishui County."

  "What's the reason for this dispersal again?" Zheng Yanfu asked sincerely.

  "As before, disperse and avoid the government troops while clearing out the unstable elements within the team." Zhu Yuanzhang smiled: "Dispersing once and again, using this action to tell the brothers under his command that the road to Mount Liang is not easy to walk, it's not something that just anyone can do, giving them a second chance to reconsider, it's still possible to be a rat."

  "Why was the location chosen in the mountainous area between two counties?"

  Zhu Yuanzhang smiled slightly and said seriously, "Do you know why thieves have always appeared in the mountainous areas between two counties, or two prefectures, or two provinces?"

  "I don't know!"

  "Because of that place, the government troops of Chengcheng used to suppress bandits and the bandits would enter the jurisdiction of Baishui, so the government troops of Chengcheng could only stand by. The government troops of Baishui used to suppress bandits and the bandits would enter the jurisdiction of Chengcheng, so the government troops of Baishui could only stand by..." Zhu Yuanzhang said in a low voice: "The garrison troops on both sides do not have the power to pursue enemy soldiers across borders, they can only petition the governor of Xi'an Prefecture to dispatch an official who can simultaneously govern two counties..."

  Zheng Yanfu suddenly enlightened: "I understand, the official's actions have always been slow and dragging. By the time this big official who can manage two counties arrives, I can run to a new place again... Hmm... Brave warrior, where should I go next time?"

  Zhu Yuanzhang gave him a disapproving look and sighed, "Next time, of course, you'll run to the border area between two provinces. In that kind of place, it's not just two county magistrates or two prefectural judges who won't dare to act rashly, even the provincial governors of both provinces won't find it convenient to take action. They'll have to send a high-ranking official at the level of governor-general of both provinces before they can dispatch troops to quell the uprising. Once you reach the border area between two provinces, you won't need to run anymore and can start building your own Liangshan..."

  Zhu Yuanzhang's mind quickly turned around, and with his understanding of the Ming Dynasty, he thought of an excellent hiding place in a short breath. He pointed north with his hand and said seriously: "Huanglong Mountain, you can go to Huanglong Mountain..."