Chapter 69 Section 22: Chengdu People in Panic

After more than ten years of mobile propaganda, the prestige of Zhang Xianzhong's department has spread throughout half of the Ming Dynasty.It's a pity that the three characters "Eight Great Kings" are widely spread as synonymous with horror.In many provinces, the best way to scare a child is to tell him that if he doesn't obey, the "Eight Kings" will reach in through the window and arrest him. Therefore, it is entirely conceivable that the entry of Zhang Xianzhong's troops into Sichuan would shock the people of Sichuan.The scholar Fu Diji personally experienced Zhang Xianzhong's rule of Shu, and later he recorded what he saw Zhang Bu did in his chronicle "Mr. Wuma Chronicle".

Fu Diji was the son of a small landlord in Jianzhou, Sichuan. Before Zhang Xianzhong entered Sichuan, he was still studying in the city, singing and communicating with friends every day, surrounded by a peaceful scene.On the third day of May in the seventeenth year of Chongzhen (AD), the news of Zhang Xianzhong's entry into Sichuan reached Jianyang, and the peaceful life was suddenly broken. Although it is impossible for Zhang Xianzhong's troops to arrive in a short period of time, the people of Jianyang responded quickly. "In June, all the women in Zhoucheng fled", "In July, when the town of Chongqing was broken, soldiers from far away fled back, and all their right hands were chopped off."This seems to confirm people's judgment even more.Some families in Jianyang simply moved their entire family far away, to the fringes of Sichuan, or even Yunnan, Guizhou and other places, to seek refuge with relatives and friends.

Different from the legend that the people always rejoice in the face of the rebel army, the people of Jianyang suffered horrific torture during the months of waiting for the arrival of Zhang Xianzhong's troops.The more troubled times are, the more rumors there are. News spreads every three days that Zhang Jun is coming soon, so the people help the old and the young and flee to the mountains in a hurry.However, after waiting for two days, there was no movement, and only then did I realize that it was a false alarm. Chengdu, the provincial capital hundreds of miles away, was in a mess.During the one month between the fall of Chongqing and Chengdu, the residents of Chengdu were tortured by terror day and night.

According to historical records, for more than a month, the city of Chengdu was in a state of hysteria. In the middle of the night, people often shouted because they heard the wind and the grass, and the shadows of cups and bows. "Call and say: 'Cross to the end!' Tomorrow, call again: 'To present to the end!'" So the city was in a commotion, people cried for their fathers and mothers, hid everywhere, and tossed most of the night, only to find out that it was a rumor. It's a blessing, not a curse, and it's a disaster that can't be avoided.Under the tremendous pressure of terror, Zhang Xianzhong broke through Chengdu neatly on the ninth day of August, which was almost a relief for the people of Chengdu.

Of course, Jian Yang quickly got a taste of Zhang Xianzhong's fighting spirit.Those who fled into the mountains early proved to be farsighted, for some of those who were slow to flee were indeed met with bloodshed. According to "Mr. Wuma's Chronicle", after Chengdu was broken, on September 12th, Zhang Xianzhong's troops went out to sweep up nearby counties and counties, and a troop rushed to Jianyang.After hearing the news, more than a thousand people from Wumaqiao Village fled in a hurry and rushed to the nearby mountains, but their speed could not compare with Zhang Jun's cavalry.Zhang Jun quickly chased them up, and they had to "resist" the rebels with their bare hands. They were "killed by the rebel horsemen in Xi'ertan, Heimo Bay, on the shore of the water, without a gap. This is the first time I saw the tragedy of killing people."

It seems that the legendary catastrophe is finally coming.