Haisheng Mingdi

Chapter 43 Deserters
When Zhu Yihai came out from Wang Chuang's Wei Xun, he bumped into Shen Chenquan and Lin Shidang looking up at the sky on the way.

"Are the two lovers admiring the sunset?"

"Your Highness!"

The two turned their heads and bowed at the sound. Lin Shidang, who had just been appointed as the prefect of Ningbo and then immediately promoted to the deputy envoy of the Zhejiang Provincial Inspection Division and also in charge of patrolling Ning Shaotai Road and Taizhou Bingbei Road, looked worried, "The sky is not right now. A sign of fall!"

Shen Chenquan, who was valued by Zhu Yihai and entrusted as the deputy censor of the capital, explained, "In recent days, after the sun has set, the red air has risen from the west and rushed across the sky. If this happens for several days, this is a soldier A sign of rising, a sign of a dead body, and a sign of bleeding."

"Ominous!"

Zhu Yihai also looked up to the west, the sky was full of sunset clouds, as if the sky had been burning for a long time, it was very gorgeous.

"Lonely, I only know a folk proverb, the morning glow does not go out, the sunset glow travels a thousand miles, this sunset glow covers half the sky, it seems that it will be very convenient for us to travel north tomorrow."

"Your Highness, I think this is a warning from heaven. Please change your mind and don't go to Shaoxing." Shen Chenquan still has the old attitude. Zhu Yihai is now the supervisor of the country, and the supervisor is the king of a country. How can he easily go to the front line in danger?

But what Zhu Yihai had already decided would not be easily changed.

"I don't know much about celestial phenomena and inscriptions, but even if it's true as you say, it's nothing. Nowadays, there are swords and wars everywhere in this world. How can there be a quiet place? How many years have been fought in this world? More than tens of millions, the blood of the people of Ming Dynasty will be drained, so the celestial phenomena are correct, and there is indeed a sign of bloodshed, but should we be afraid of bloodshed?"

"One inch of mountains and rivers, one inch of blood, one hundred thousand youths and one hundred thousand soldiers!"

"Qing and others are firmly against the Qing Dynasty, so let's face each other directly, and let the storm come more violently!"

The two talented scholars who had both stayed in the Imperial Academy could not help but be inspired by Jian Guo's lofty ambition.

Later, the words of Lu Jianguo and the two courtiers spread, and everyone who was hesitant at first couldn't help being excited after hearing it, especially civil servants and gentry like Qian Sule, who originally insisted on going north to Jianguo. I still have some objections, but now I feel that the country is so powerful, so there is nothing to hesitate to worry about.

Even though Qian Sule was still very sick, he proposed to lead the recovery camp north to Shaoxing.

In the city of Ningbo, those weak local tyrants and evil gentry who had just been severely beaten and surrendered to the enemy breathed a sigh of relief. Although there was an order from the state supervisor, the Banner Bearer Battalion was responsible for recruiting, and there was no riot or robbery.

But these people from the Banner Bearer Battalion were not polite, saying that they were persuading them to donate, but in fact they were forcing them to donate half of it.

Soldiers block the door, swords and guns are facing each other, can you not donate?

See what happened to the richest man Xie Sanbin?
I can only donate. The only thing I can be thankful for is that the Banner Bearer Camp is really polite. It didn't take advantage of the fire, and didn't bully the women in the family. , even if it's over.

They will even issue a list of the payment with details, and then give a plaque for the recognition of the payment.

But everyone was always uneasy. They were used to the domineering warriors, and now they are not used to being polite. They are even more worried that this is just superficial. Maybe they will find a reason to persuade them to donate or borrow money later.

Now that we are finally leaving, everyone can sleep peacefully.

Many poor people in Ningbo rushed to sign up to join the army. Some of them were slow to hear and did not know that the recruitment had just arrived. There were peasants from the outskirts of the city, miners and woodcutters in the mountains, fishermen by the sea, sailors on board, and shop assistants. and many more.

They all heard that the prison country recruits soldiers and pays them well.

I heard that many people have received five taels of silver, and even paid a month's full salary, and paid a month's salary in advance. The real deal is six or seven taels of silver in hand.

It's a pity they came late.

Zhu Yihai didn't want to turn the ground into a soldier, and he didn't want to recruit a bunch of mobs.

Soldiers are good but not many, casually pack one hundred and eighty thousand soldiers, except for their good names, they are really useless on the battlefield, instead they are the way to defeat.

Facing the common people who came to worship, Zhu Yihai also had some self-knowledge. Knowing that these common people might not be really loyal to the emperor. Most of the people at the bottom are illiterate, and many of them have never been outside a hundred miles in their entire lives, and many of them have never even been to the county town in their entire lives.

They are well-informed, and although they are also influenced by traditional culture, they know etiquette after all.

These common people who are rushing from all directions value the most as soldiers with generous salaries, and many people even just want to have enough food to eat. If Zhu Yihai hadn't come, but Xie Sanbin and others ushered in the Qing army, the Qing army would have paid a lot of money. I am afraid that most people will come to sign up as well.

"The common people are sincere and loyal, and feel guilty alone. Mr. Qian and Mr. Ge, please immediately set up a porridge shed, set up a pot to cook porridge, let the people who come here have a warm meal first, and then tell them well , Right now we will not be recruiting new soldiers for the time being. Let everyone return home and settle down to their jobs. Remember to announce and explain to everyone the exemption of tax arrears over the past years and the exemption of this year’s land tax that Gu previously announced. "

Lin Shi was promoted to the deputy envoy of the inspectorate, and was assigned to patrol Ning Shaotai Road and Taizhou Bingbei Road, and the prefect of Ningbo awarded it to Ge Shizhen.

"The minister must appease the people."

"Okay, let's go!"

The Yongwei Second Battalion opened the way, the [-]th Battalion and the Fifth Army Battalion guarded the two wings, the Shenji Battalion and the Bannerman Battalion were in the middle, and the Sixth Battalion left the city behind the Biao Battalion Hall in Zhejiang Town.

The people gathered around to watch.

Zhang Mingzhen even rode on a horse, revealing the words "serve the country with a heart" on his back, and roared out loudly that he would go north to the Central Plains and vowed to go straight to Huanglong.

The Sixth Battalion has a full staff of 6000 people, [-] soldiers, and [-] elders. In addition, there are many gentry and gentlemen from Ningbo who went north together. Many of them were originally court officials. , this time Zhu Yihai used a large number of them to enrich his temporary small court team.

Quite a number of Juren were conferred Jinshi's background, and Xiucai conferred Juren's background and granted them official positions. This move has a good effect. Originally, there were only a small number of gentry in Ningbo who were dedicated to fighting against the Qing Dynasty, but after Zhu Yihai was so generous, Basically, most of the gentry in Ningbo have come to work under his command.

The gentry team going north is very large. These former officials or gentlemen who have raised people and talents, now drive north with them, and they also bring their nephews, brothers, or servants as guards, some of them even bring their long-term book boys, and some even bring them with them. For concubines and maidservants.

Zhu Yihai didn't stop them either, he just told them not to go with Liuying, but to follow them.

And those who drive into the barracks, no matter what official position they are, are not allowed to bring servants, let alone women, let alone ride in cars and sedan chairs, at most they are allowed to ride horses and mules.

Walking in the outskirts of the city, the sun is scorching.

In the middle of June in the south of the Yangtze River, the rice fields are golden at this time, it is the summer harvest season, and even the rice seedlings in the seedling fields are already green, and the busiest season of double grabbing is coming.

Only half a day after leaving the city, the team of country gentry with many horses and horses has been left far behind.

Ma Jixiang, the guerrilla general of the Second Battalion of Yongwei who opened the way, galloped all the way on his beloved streaky horse, "Your Highness, there is a situation."

Zhu Yihai doesn't like Ma Jixiang very much. This person is very famous in the history of Nanming, but he is neither a literary Taoist nor a martial artist. A well-known traitor in the court.

He gained power by relying on the eunuch Gao Qiqian earlier, and before that, he also attached to Pang Tianshou. The reason why Zhu Yihai still kept him in charge of the second battalion of Yongwei was because the second battalion was Pang Tianshou and Ma Jixiang recruiting troops in Guangdong. up.

There is nothing wrong or missing for the time being, and it is not easy for Zhu Yihai to replace him, so he will observe and use it first.

After observing for a while, Zhu Yihai found that Ma Jixiang actually had some skills. For example, the second battalion of Yongwei had actually undergone several rounds of reorganization, but this guy had the ability to hold the second battalion firmly in his hands. , the prestige in the camp is quite strong.

For another example, Ma Jixiang drove east all the way, he was very good at digging camps, and he got along very well with everyone, even Wang Zhiren, Zhang Mingzhen and others got along very well with him.

The tasks that are usually assigned are also completed quickly and well.

Zhu Yihai is not in a hurry to replace him right now, and there is no suitable person to replace him in charge of the Yongwei Second Battalion.

"What's the matter?"

"My Yongying [-]nd Battalion's vanguard patrolled the news that a rebel army came from the direction of Guanhaiwei, looting the village everywhere, and countless people are fleeing to Ningbo Fucheng!"

Zhu Yihai became angry when he heard it.

"more specific?"

Ma Jixiang came prepared, and immediately said, "According to the general's investigation, this rebel army was led by Chen Wu, the former general of Jiaxing. They came across the sea from Jiaxing, and landed on the coast of Guanhaiwei. After landing, they went to the Zongbing to plunder."

"Jiaxing General Soldier Chen Wu?"

"This person's ancestral home is Chenxi, Shangyu, Shaoxing. His elder brother Chen Jun served successively as the commander-in-chief of Yunnan and Guangdong. Of.

"A genuine commander-in-chief, or a hanged commander-in-chief?"

Ma Jixiang suggested, "I heard that Chen Zongbing and his brother are called dragons and tigers among men, and Chen Wu is brave and courageous, so why not send someone to deliver an edict to appease him."

"How many rebels did Chen Wu bring to loot the village?" Zhu Yihai asked.

"It is said that there are tens of thousands of people."

Zhu Yihai became even angrier when he heard this, "A commanding officer in a dignified town, with tens of thousands of horses under his command, didn't want to share the worries of the king and fight bandits for the country, but he was defeated and fled, and even caused harm to the village? With such scum, how can we talk about appeasement? "

Wang Zhiren, Zhang Mingzhen and others also came after hearing the news.

Wang Zhiren used to be Su Song's commander in chief, and he was a neighbor of Chen Wu, so he knew him better, and at this time he also persuaded him to make a decree to appease him, and Chen Wu could be summoned with one decree.

The more than ten thousand men and horses under his command can naturally be used by the supervisor.

But Zhu Yihai's face was dark.

"Your Highness, Chen Zongbing retreated from Jiaxing, so he can only collect food locally, which is also an expedient measure."

"Expedient measure? As you have heard just now, Chen Wu's plundering is not simply collecting food, but looting, not only looting villages, but even attacking county towns, burning, killing, and looting. This is Daming's army. Is it? They are worse than Tartars!"

"His Royal Highness, first appease and then talk. As long as Chen Wu is promoted to a noble, he will certainly accept the imperial edict gladly."

Several generals are not surprised. Chen Wu's men are the regular army of Daming, but now they are defeated deserters, who can do anything. Daming has been in chaos these years, and most of them are guards who can't survive. Rebellion, or is it simply the mutiny of the frontier battalion soldiers who were owed wages?

That's how everyone came here.

(End of this chapter)