Take the warehouse back to the end of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 391

Yangqu County is not too far from Taiyuan Mansion, and it won't take long to arrive there by riding a war horse.

It didn't take long when Zhao Wen led his soldiers to station in Yangqu County, and those who monitored Zhao Wen rushed to the gate of Taiyuan Mansion without closing the night.

"Hurry up and open the city gate. We are sent by the governor and will not be accepted at night. We have important military information, so hurry up and open the city gate."

The leader, Ye Bushou, rode his horse and stopped by the moat, shouting at the defenders on the wall.

A head protruded from the top of the city and shouted loudly: "What is the password today? Now that the thief Zhao is approaching, we can't let you in easily. I dare to let you in if you can answer. If you can’t answer, then don’t blame us for being rude.”

The leader, Ye Bushou, shouted without even thinking: "Let all the soldiers in Taiyuan have a million soldiers, and smash Zhao's bandits into peace!"

"The password is correct, it is our people, put down the suspension bridge and let them in."

The defender on the top of the city retracted his body and hurriedly said to the soldiers behind him.

After a while, the suspension bridge above the moat was slowly lowered, and the city gate was also opened at this time.

The leader, Ye Bushou, led his men and horses, flicked the whip in his hand, and rushed towards the city wall.

Not long after, the leader Ye Bushou brought Ye Bushou under his command to the governor's yamen.

At this time, the hall of the governor's yamen was full of generals, and these generals were basically the defenders of Taiyuan Mansion and the counties around Taiyuan Mansion.

Now Wu Xuan has assembled them and is arranging to resist Zhao Wen.

"My lord, urgent military situation!" Ye Bushou rushed into the hall as the leader, and shouted at Wu Zhen who was sitting in the main seat.

Wu Zhen frowned, and hurriedly asked, "How's the situation?"

"Returning to my lord, the defenders in Yangqu County didn't last for a quarter of an hour. When the bandits Zhao sent troops to attack, it was only a round of shelling, and the defenders on the city wall held up white flags, opened the city gate and surrendered. "

"What? You didn't persist for a quarter of an hour, so you just surrendered?" Hearing this, Wu Tong slapped the table next to him, and roared angrily, "This group of people who are greedy for life and afraid of death, have no eyes. Those who command are simply a disgrace to my Ming Dynasty, it is simply a disgrace.

Although Yangqu County is not as good as Yanmenguan Taiyuan Mansion, it is also much better than ordinary county towns.Although I didn't expect Yangqu County to hold off Zhao thief for a long time, I never expected that the remaining defenders in the city would surrender without even resisting. "

Wu Zhen stood up and walked back and forth in the hall, his chest heaving and falling because of anger.

"Damn it, really damn it, these people really deserve it." Wu Xuan yelled and cursed endlessly.

Chen Dehai, the commander-in-chief of Shanxi Town, stood aside, and said to Wu Sheng with a gloomy expression, "Master Governor, Bandit Zhao is very powerful, and the weapon in his hand is even more powerful.

Especially his artillery can accurately hit the city wall from several miles away, and its power is also very powerful. Once fired, there will be no survivors within a radius of ten feet.

Even if it hits the city wall, the bricks covering the city wall will not last long under the blow of this kind of artillery.

It is normal for Yangqu County to surrender. "

After Chen Dehai fled to Taiyuan Mansion, Wu Sheng, the governor, did not arrest Chen Dehai, and even valued Chen Dehai very much.

After all, Chen Dehai was the only one among these people who had fought against Zhao Wen, which was of great help to Taiyuan's defense.

Wu Zhen let out a long breath, with a dejected expression on his face, "I know, I know what you said. I don't dare to expect the remaining defenders in Yangqu County to resist desperately, but I never expected that these defenders are all Some trash actually surrendered directly."

"My lord, now is not the time to think about these things. Our top priority now is how to defend the city of Taiyuan Prefecture." Li Tianhe, the commander-in-chief of Taiyuan Prefecture, dressed in iron armor, sat on the side of the hall and hurriedly said to Wu Sheng.

Wu Zhen came back to his senses and looked at Li Tianhe, "How many soldiers and horses are there in the city now?"

"My lord, since you gave the order to recruit soldiers and horses, a total of [-] soldiers and horses have been gathered in the city. According to your intention, a total of nearly [-] young and strong soldiers have been recruited." Li Tianhe thought for a while, and then said stand up.

Wu Xuan nodded. There are a total of 3 people guarding a Taiyuan mansion. They should be able to hold it. Even if they can't, they should be able to hold on for a little longer.

"But, but..." Li Tianhe's expression suddenly became a little hesitant, he looked at Wu Zhen, and couldn't open his mouth in some embarrassment.

Wu Zhen sat on the main seat and asked, "But what? Could it be that your number is false?"

"No, no, no, the number of people is absolutely fine, and the number of people is absolutely not false. It's just that the army has not been paid for three months, and this time it is time to resist the Zhao bandits. Many brothers in the army are clamoring for the payment of the army." Li Tianhe After hesitating for a long time, he finally asked the question.

Wu Tong looked at Li Tianhe in surprise, "You haven't been paid for three months? How did you become the chief soldier in Taiyuan?"

"It's not my reason either, it's a very normal thing for the imperial court to default on the military salary.

Even if I want to pay the army, I don't have any money in my hands. "Li Tianhe explained with a tangled face.

"It's definitely too late to ask the imperial court for military pay now. But if there is no military pay, the soldiers will definitely not defend the city with all their strength. In this way, the city will definitely not be able to defend it." Wu Xuan stroked his beard and pondered for a long time, then looked at Wang Gubo, Chief Secretary of Shanxi Province, who was sitting next to him, said, "How much money is there in the treasury now?"

Wang Gubo said bitterly: "My lord, the weather has become more and more drier in recent years, and the taxes in various places have become less and less. In addition, water conservancy and city walls have to be built every year. Now the remaining money in the treasury Not enough to pay the military salary.

A soldier's military expenditure is calculated at one tael and five taels of silver for one month, and four taels of silver for three months. Ten thousand soldiers need forty-five taels of silver just to make up for the arrears of military pay.This is not counting the silver for the recruited youth.

But now there are only 5 taels of silver left in the treasury, which is not enough at all. "

"5 taels of silver is not enough at all. Such a small amount of silver is only enough to pay the arrears of military pay, let alone the money spent by these soldiers when they defended the city wall." Wu Sheng's expression became tangled again.

As the saying goes, a penny beats a hero. Now it is not just a penny, but a shortfall of nearly 5 taels of silver. This does not include the money for hard work, An Jiayin, and reward silver used to boost morale.

If you bring all these things with you, plus young and strong, you may need even more.

It's hard for a clever woman to cook without rice, and without military pay, even a powerful army will collapse one day.

What's more, these soldiers are not powerful soldiers.

These soldiers were guard soldiers from the nearby counties and Taiyuan Prefecture. They couldn't even get enough to eat on weekdays. Now it's impossible to make them work hard without giving them money.

"What should we do now? The distance from Yangqu County to Taiyuan Mansion is more than 40 miles and nearly [-] miles. Such a short distance, no matter how slow the speed is, it will definitely be there in one or two hours. Bandit Zhao died in Yangqu County to repair One day, the day after tomorrow at the latest, we will be able to invade Taiyuan Mansion, if we can’t get money in this time, I’m afraid Taiyuan Mansion won’t be able to hold on.” Wang Gubo, the chief envoy of Shanxi Province, showed a trace of worry on his face.

When Zhao Wen broke through the Yanmen Pass, he thought it would take at least a month for Zhao Wen to attack Taiyuan Mansion, but he didn't expect how long it had passed, even less than half a month. Under the city of Taiyuan Prefecture.

If the issue of the general's salary is not resolved as soon as possible, and the soldiers defending the city have no intention of defending the city, it may only be a matter of time before Taiyuan Mansion is breached.

The entire hall fell silent, and everyone was helpless, quietly thinking about how to deal with this matter.

The atmosphere in the hall was extremely suppressed, and no one dared to breathe loudly.

Wu Zhen was sitting on the chair, rubbing his forehead with his right hand, and stroking his beard with his left hand, with a worried expression on his face.

"In my opinion, we can only ask the gentry in the city for help. If the Taiyuan Mansion is not protected, the gentry in the city will end badly. It is rumored that Zhao Wen likes to rob the gentry the most. Let's give these gentry a sense of affection." In reason, maybe we can make up the required military expenses." Wu Zhen glanced at everyone in the hall, and suddenly said.

Li Tianhe said with some hesitation: "Master, can this work? Can these people provide us with military expenses for no reason? And this is not tens of taels or hundreds of taels, but tens of thousands of taels or even 10,000+ taels of silver."

"How can it be said that they provided us with money for no reason? Aren't they a member of Taiyuan Mansion? If Taiyuan Mansion is breached, they can still fall behind? Taiyuan Mansion is gone, they are just a group of fat sheep to be slaughtered , by that time, Zhao Wen won't let him go." Wu Xuan retorted.

"My lord, should we also send someone to King Jin's place?" Wang Gubo suddenly looked at Wu Zhen.

Wu Sheng nodded, "The King of Jin is the vassal of the Taiyuan Mansion, and the first King of Jin is one of the nine great kings of the imperial court. Naturally, the lineage of the King of Jin has the responsibility of guarding the land. But this matter is of great importance, so we will I'll go there myself when the time comes."

"The method is this way. After you go down later, go to the city and send a message to all the gentry in the city, saying that tonight I will entertain all the gentry at the Governor's Yamen."

"I'll obey!" Everyone in the hall stood up, cupped their hands at Wu Sheng, then turned and left.

Seeing the backs of them leaving, Wu Tong let out a long breath, and said worriedly: "I hope these gentry are people who have the country in their hearts and are sensible."

Time passed slowly, and when the sun set on the western mountain and the sky began to darken, Wu Sheng set up dozens of tables of banquets in the governor's yamen.

It is said to be a banquet, but the meals on the banquet are all boiled tofu.

Not long after, the gentry in the city came hand in hand.

"Today, I heard that the governor invited me to a banquet, and I dare not lose face to the governor!"

"That's right, the Lord Governor is the master Qingtian of Taiyuan Mansion and even the entire Shanxi territory. Today, the Lord Governor treats us for a banquet because he thinks highly of us, and we must come to support this event."

A group of gentry walked into the front yard of the Governor's Yamen and saw Wu Chen standing in the yard with a smile on his face.

Wu Zhen didn't wear an official uniform, but an ordinary T-shirt, and with a smile on his face, he waved his hands at these people who came.

It didn't take long for the dozens of tables prepared by Wu Sheng to be filled by the gentlemen who came.

When they sat around the table and looked at the food on the table, they were all dumbfounded.

There were more than a dozen large coarse porcelain bowls on the table, and there were still some bland boiled tofu in the bowls.

These gentry looked at the boiled tofu on the table, and for a moment they didn't know what kind of medicine was sold in Wu Zhen's gourd, so they all looked at Wu Zhen with puzzled faces.

This is a feast?In the eyes of these gentry, even the servants in their own family would not eat these things, so why are they offering treats now?
Wu Zhen looked at everyone's suspicious eyes, and sat straight in his seat.

"Perhaps you are all curious. Since I am entertaining everyone, why do I only provide you with meals like Baishuizhu tofu?" Wu Yan pointed to a bowl of boiled tofu in white water in front of his table, and his voice was not in a hurry.

"Yeah, we really don't understand what the governor's move means!"

"That's right, although we are also scholars, we can't be compared with those who come from the Imperial Academy, Qingliu Yushi, and the Governor. Your Excellency's move must have other meanings, but I don't know much about it. .”

All of a sudden, the gentry's voice boiled up.

Wu Zhen stroked the beard on his chin, and smiled slightly, "Do you know where the founding ancestor of the Ming Dynasty came from?"

As soon as Wu Zhen said this, the gentry below couldn't understand what Wu Zhen meant.

Everyone in the world knows Taizu's origin, so is there any connection between Taizu's origin and today's boiled tofu?
"Taizu was born in the humble beginnings, but he had the life of a dragon. He was the reincarnation of the Nine Heavens Dragon. Since Taizu raised his army, Taizu has always been up and running, sleeps at night, wears clothes and eats clothes, and finally creates a great Ming Dynasty."

A gentry looked at Wu Zhen and shouted loudly.

Wu Xuan nodded and praised: "That's right, the Taizu Emperor Gao was indeed from a humble background, when the Taizu raised his army, he couldn't even eat enough.

But even so, what did Taizu rely on to create this immortal foundation?Relying on these white boiled tofu in front of you.Do you still think these are just boiled tofu? "

Wu Zhen paused, and then said again: "Everyone, do you think the current imperial court is better than the time when Taizu raised troops?"

"It goes without saying that the current conditions must be good."

As soon as Wu Sheng finished speaking, a gentry answered.

Wu Sheng said: "That's right, it is indeed much better now than when Taizu raised his troops. When Taizu raised his troops, there were Qianyuan in the north, Zhang Shicheng and Chen Youliang in the south. Now, we only have one enemy, and that is the people who have already stationed in Yangqu. Zhao Wen of the county rebelled against the bandits.

Now Bandit Zhao has entered Yangqu County, less than [-] miles away from Taiyuan Mansion, and can reach the city of Taiyuan in an instant. "

"What? Why so fast? How could thief Zhao move so fast? In just a few days, they have already attacked Yangqu County? According to this speed, I am afraid that they will come to Taiyuan Prefecture in a few days."

"The speed of this Zhao thief is really fast. I used to think that this Zhao thief was just an ordinary military household, but I didn't expect to have such a skill."

"What should I do? Once we attack Taiyuan Mansion, won't my family's hundreds of acres of paddy fields outside the city be destroyed? What should we do?"

When these gentry heard the latest news about Wu Sheng, they became a little flustered.

Wu Zhen watched the gentry's reaction, and said, "Everyone, what do you think should be done in this situation?"

"What should I do? Does it need to be said? Just fight, beat Zhao Wen's rebels back to Xuan Town, and let him go to be his military household."

"That's right, beat Zhao Wen back."

"Call back!"

For a moment, all the gentry below became excited.

Seeing this, Wu Tong couldn't help but feel relieved. It seems that today he should be able to raise the required silver taels from these gentry.

"But now our officers and men are exhausted and don't even have the cloth to cover them. What do you think we should do?" Wu Zhen asked.

"What should I do? Of course, I will ask the imperial court to allocate the military salary."

"But now that Bandit Zhao has already approached Taiyuan Mansion, and the capital is too far away, there is no time, so what?"

"Then take out all the silver deposits in the treasury and distribute them."

"But there is not enough silver in the treasury, so what should I do?"

"..."

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(End of this chapter)