Brother Zhu Youxiao

Chapter 605
"Sorry..."

At the beginning of July, there is no doubt that this season is the most beautiful time on the grasslands, and this time is also the most beautiful time in the Western Regions.

Autumn in Xinjiang is later than that in the Central Plains, so the grassland north of Suiye City in early July is still like a colorful and beautiful tapestry stretching into the distance, full of greenery.

In the [-]th century, the northern grassland of Suiye City is full of wild flowers and lush aquatic plants, ushering in the most beautiful season of the year.

The scenery here is picturesque, the temperature is cool and comfortable, and the air is fresh and natural.

A group of more than one hundred Ming army cavalry under the banner of "Li" accompanied Sui Ye Shui all the way, patrolling the defense line of the Ming Dynasty frontier fortress.

On both sides of Suiye River are lush mountain grasslands and river valley grasslands. From the foot of the mountain to the mountainside, the dense spruce forest is green and tall. Flocks of cattle and sheep, horses and white Kazakh yurts are scattered on the grassland. The snow-capped mountains in the distance are faintly visible. Move to Yijing.

I rode up a small hill, and saw only the Tianshan Mountains in the south surrounded by mountains, high mountains and flowing water, surrounded by vast natural grasslands, and dotted with yurts.

The white cloud-like flock and the shepherds make people feel peaceful.

This beautiful scenery has a panoramic view, allowing the soldiers patrolling the border to fully appreciate the artistic conception of "being at the top of the mountain and seeing all the small mountains at a glance".

Snow-capped mountains, lush spruces, green grasslands, leisurely cattle and sheep, these exist in the same frame, and people can't help but marvel at the beauty of Anxi.

A young soldier got off his horse and washed his face with cool broken leaf water. When he returned to the horse, another older soldier rode over and stretched out his hand to pull him on the horse.

"You two brothers, don't relax too much. After all, this is a frontier, and there will still be northern captives from time to time."

Seeing the leisurely appearance of these two people, a young general in the distance called out to them, and they also hurriedly rode over with a smile.

"Don't worry, Chief Soldier, we are on guard."

Under the helmet, the young man with slightly reddish and dark skin raised his head, revealing his familiar face.

"How? I just joined the army, are you still used to it? Do you have the idea of ​​going home crying?"

Facing these two people, Li Dingguo, who was stationed under the banner of "Li" Zijing in Ma, looked at the two people in front of him with a slight smile.

"No!" The two boys categorically complained to Li Dingguo:

"You don't know what my elder brother asks us to do every day. He can travel south by himself. My two brothers have only left Beizhili until now."

The conversation between the two boys revealed their identities. If you look carefully, it's not Zhu Cixuan who is the king of Yong and Zhu Cijiong who is the king of Ding.

"This Anxi is vast, and it makes people happier than in the capital. I don't want to go back other than to miss my mother and concubine."

Zhu Ciyun was wearing a cloth face armor, smiling very happily.

Zhu Cijiong next to him is less talkative and more thoughtful, so he often nods and smiles in agreement, expressing that he thinks the same.

"You two are safe, much better than him."

When Li Dingguo talked about the two, he couldn't help but think of the cheap little black fat man in his memory, with a smile on his face.

Just as he was about to say something, a group of horses came from a distance, which immediately attracted everyone's attention.

Tang Qi, who came over, bowed and saluted on horseback, and then handed out the bamboo tube conveying the military order:

"General soldier, news from Fusi of Beizhen, Huduntu of Beilu took advantage of the summer to attack Kazakhs and annexed Da and Zhongyuzi."

"Understood..." Hearing the news, Li Dingguo quickly took a look, and then just replied with a good word.

Zhu Cixuan, who didn't understand, couldn't help asking: "Aren't we going to respond?"

"The order of the Governor's Mansion is not to respond for the time being." Li Dingguo replied, and then said to Zhu Cixuan and Zhu Cijiong, two "new soldiers" who only had theoretical understanding of military affairs:
"Whether you are king or general in the future, you must remember the military order like a mountain."

"Yes!" The two quickly bowed to each other when they heard the words. This scene did not have any impact on the soldiers and generals around them.

The enlistment of feudal princes and clan children into the army has already happened five years after the apocalypse.

For the generals and soldiers of the Dudu Mansion of the Five Armies, whether it is a king or a king, entering the barracks only depends on the military position, and nothing else is useless.

"Back to Broken Yecheng."

After reading the military report, Li Dingguo turned his horse's head to stop his patrol and returned to Suiye City.

Zhu Cixuan and Zhu Cijiong, as their personal guards, immediately blew the wooden whistle to inform the resting cavalry to assemble.

Not long after, the scattered cavalry gathered again, and they also began to return to Suiye City in the south.

From the grassland in the north all the way to the south, after driving for more than ten miles in a row, people who were clearing the fields began to appear in the distance.

They operate tractors in teams of three, trying to clear more fields before winter arrives.

As an important town for westward expansion, Suiye City is the top priority of Anxi and the northern army.

Therefore, concrete country roads and city walls have been built, and canals for irrigating the fields have been dredged one by one with the cooperation of the military and the people.

So far, this place, which has only been regained for more than [-] months, is now full of vitality.

Tens of thousands of people using tractors are working in the fields, with Suiye City as the center, reclaiming land in all directions.

"According to this posture, before next year's spring planting, the arable land in Suiye City should exceed 20 mu."

Li Dingguo sighed in his heart when he saw the grand occasion of farmers in the fields.

Faced with his sighs, Zhu Ciyun, who had been a soldier for a month, also shared the news he had heard in the Yamen of Suiye City:

"I heard from Prefect Chen that there are already 16 mu of arable land in Suiye County. For the [-] people in Suiye City, [-] mu of land can support them, and the remaining [-] mu can support the army's westward expedition. "

"It's just that Brother Li, do you think Uncle Mingsui will really order to recover the Hezhong area?"

"Yes!" Li Dingguo responded without thinking, because he knew that Zhu Youjian had already made his decision.

"Recently, many people in the army are worried that the imperial court's national policy will change when my uncle leaves."

Zhu Cijiong, who had been silent all this time, spoke surprisingly, but such a thing did not make Li Dingguo feel strange.

Since the "Da Ming Pao" published that the King of Qi might become a domain in the 23rd or 24th year of Tianqi, there have been many disputes among the people and the army about this matter.

Especially since last year, after the severe drought that swept nearly [-]% of the arable land and nearly [-]% of the population of Daming, many people felt that King Qi would not leave Daming at such a critical moment.

The severe drought caused great harm to Daming, and the abandonment of the fields in the Central Plains alone was enough to keep busy for a long time.

Therefore, in the eyes of many people, there is a high probability that the king of Qi will not become a feudal clan for the time being, and he should think about the matter of becoming a feudal clan after pushing Daming to a prosperous age again.

But Li Dingguo knew very well that no one can change what Zhu Youjian decided.

Moreover, the governance work after years of severe drought will also be a huge achievement.

Giving this achievement to Zhu Ciran, and stabilizing Zhu Ciran's position as the crown prince, then Ming Dynasty can prosper for another few decades.

Li Dingguo, who was born in a farming family, actually felt at this moment that if the drought lasted for a few more years, that would be a good choice.

At least there is a drought, Zhu Youjian will not leave for the time being.

But he also knew that Zhu Youjian's understanding of astronomy was much higher than that of the people in the world. Since Zhu Youjian decided to leave, it meant that the drought would also end.

After the severe drought is over, what he wanted to do in Daming has already been done...

"Woohoohoo!"

Entering the gate of Suiye City, a few children holding kites ran and let them go. They were not afraid of the soldiers defending the city at all, which was in stark contrast to the Ming army's reputation during the Wanli period.

Entering Suiye City, because it is a frontier fortress city and has no property of its own, there are not many businessmen in Suiye City, they are basically civilians and soldiers living here.

All the Huihui-style buildings in the city have been bulldozed, and most of the newly built houses are made of concrete. This makes the houses in Suiye City very different from the houses in the Central Plains.

The houses in Suiye City are more like the courtyard houses of the later generations. Although they are also painted with wood paint and white paint, when you get closer, you can still see that the whole house is made of cement.

It does not have the simplicity and elegance of traditional Ming Dynasty buildings, but for the people in Northwest China, such houses can be preserved for a longer period of time.

The barracks of the Ming army was placed in the northwest corner of Suiye City by Li Dingguo, so that the army could climb to the top of the city in time to defend against foreign enemies when they encountered foreign enemies.

The military camp covering an area of ​​more than [-] mu occupies almost a quarter of the area of ​​Suiye City, and there are three battalions of more than [-] soldiers stationed in it.

The barracks has two gates, the east gate and the south gate, and the north and west sides are close to the city wall, so you can quickly log in to the city wall through the horse road.

Walking into the barracks, everyone was asked to hand over their bullets, even Li Dingguo was no exception.

After entering the barracks, the first thing that catches the eye is the school field for training endurance, and the four-story concrete duplex buildings in the distance, similar to the teaching buildings of later generations, are the dormitories of the soldiers of Suiye City.

Such a building is five feet high, the height of each floor is one foot and one foot, and the area of ​​each building is one mu. Each floor has twenty dormitories, and each dormitory houses four soldiers.

There are toilets and sinks in the dormitory, and the area is about 320 square meters in later generations. Such a dormitory building can accommodate [-] people, and there are [-] such buildings in the military camp.

"Go back to the dormitory to remove your armor first, and see you in the cafeteria later."

Li Dingguo turned around and spoke to more than a hundred cavalrymen, then got off his horse and left the horses to Zhu Cixuan and the others.

Zhu Cixuan and his two enlisted in the army as Chief Banner Officers, so after they arranged for someone to bring the horses back to the stables, they brought their brothers back to the dormitory, talking and laughing.

Zhu Ciyun lived with the three captains in his banner, and the four found their own dormitory.

The four lived on the fourth floor, which was convenient for observing the situation of the barracks.

While chatting and laughing, they climbed up the four floors. Since it was afternoon and the soldiers were patrolling outside the city, there was no one in the dormitory.

Opening the door of the dormitory, four neatly arranged beds greeted the eyes, and there were four tables and chairs, corresponding wardrobes, and armor racks beside them.

After entering the dormitory, the four of them took off their armors respectively.

The armor of the Ming army actually began to be restructured after the rifle was equipped in the 13th year of Tianqi, and it was divided into two sets, summer and winter.

Cloth face armor in winter and paper armor in summer.

After the winter cloth face armor has been improved, most of the armor plates have been removed, reducing the weight of the armor to fifteen catties, and it is more convenient to wear than before.

As for the summer paper armor that Zhu Cixuan and the others are currently wearing, it is made of hard cloth to frame the bones, and then used paper tendons and iron sheets to cover it. The overall weight is also controlled within fifteen catties.

Due to its light weight, it can be easily worn by one person.

No, after the four of them took off their armors and hung them on the armor stand, they simply walked towards the toilet next to the balcony one by one.

"In this weather, you need to take a cold bath."

"If I knew it earlier, I would take a shower outside the city and come back."

"It's too late to say anything now, hurry up and go to the cafeteria to prepare for dinner."

The three teams were talking and laughing as they walked into the toilet, and Zhu Cizhen also walked in shirtless after taking off his armor and mandarin duck battle jacket.

The four faucets are what they use for bathing. They can produce hot water or cold water. The key depends on how to adjust them.

However, hot water is only available when the sun is out, and the source is mainly the iron water towers on the top of the dormitory building.

After the iron water tower is heated by the sun, the water inside will boil, and the residual heat can generally last until midnight.

Therefore, generally speaking, the soldiers have hot baths to wash in the season when the sun is out.

Not long after the four of them entered the toilet, they took a shower in a sputtering manner.

During this period, Zhu Ciyun ran out, took his mandarin duck battle jacket into his arms, and washed his clothes while taking a bath.

Seeing him being such a rogue, the other teams followed suit.

They knew that Zhu Ciyun was from the clan, but they didn't know that Zhu Ciyun was from the emperor's line.

After all, there are many clans of the "ci" generation, and the team leaders only thought that Zhu Cixuan had a good background, but they didn't think in the direction of the emperor's son, so everyone was quite happy.

"Cool!"

After dawdling for a quarter of an hour, after washing, the four of them also came out with the washed clothes in their arms, wrung out the clothes in pairs on the balcony, and hung them to dry on the balcony.

"I guess I can do it at night." Feeling the "heat wave" blowing, the four of Zhu Ciyun lay on their respective beds, some were reading novels, some were reading books, and some were already snoring.

Zhu Ciyun didn't sleep, but wiped his paper armor clean.

After doing all this, his hair was almost dry, so without thinking, he walked to the mirror in the closet and tied his long hair up.

Zhu Youjian did not copy the things of later generations. Regarding the problem of hair buns in the military, he adopted the idea that soldiers need to trim their hair, and it is best not to exceed the position of the chest.

The hair in this position can be bundled, but the amount of hair after the bundle will not be so much, and it will not affect the wearing of the helmet.

People in this era don't think there is anything wrong with trimming their hair. Although it is said that "the body, hair and skin are from the parents", normal trimming is okay.

After tying up her hair, Zhu Cixuan changed into a mandarin duck war jacket that had been washed, and then picked up the military books written by her own Uncle Qi Wang and began to read.

Time passed little by little, and I don't know how long it took until the bell rang in the barracks, and some sleeping soldiers got up one after another.

"I'm starving to death! It's finally time for dinner."

A team member who was sleeping like a dead pig just a second ago was getting up yelling, and all of them had messy hair.

But as long as the hair is tied up, the image will be improved a lot in an instant.

After changing into mandarin ducks and battle jackets, Zhu Ciyun led them down the dormitory building, and rushed towards the big dining hall collectively.

It is You hour (17:[-]), and the big dining hall will be open from now until Zi hour, and they will not rest until the soldiers who watch the night have eaten until they get up at Mao hour the next day.

The time for the soldiers and horses of each unit to return to camp is different, so the meal time is also staggered.

The dining hall is not too far from the dormitory building, only a few hundred steps away, so the smell of the food has long been wafting out.

On the way to the cafeteria, Zhu Cijiong also saw Zhu Cijiong who was taking his brother to the cafeteria.

The two groups of people gathered together, and then walked into the large dining hall that covers an area of ​​nearly two acres.

Queues have already been lined up at the windows. This large dining hall, which can accommodate 2000 people at the same time, is divided into upper and lower floors, but the dishes are all the same.

The people in line also met Li Dingguo. As the commander-in-chief, he didn't have too much airs, and he mingled with the soldiers, talking and laughing happily.

Zhu Cixuan and the others waited in line for a few minutes, and when they arrived at the window, there were not many types of dishes in the window.

Fried fish in Suiye water, fried cabbage, fried potatoes, fried diced chicken with tomatoes, plus ordinary fried pork and fried chicken, this is the meal of the soldiers of Suiye Town.

Although Suiye City is completely self-sufficient, the food is not bad.

The 16 mu of arable land can make the more than 3 soldiers and civilians in the city fat and fat. After all, if there is too much food, it does not need to be transported to other cities, but is left to make fodder for livestock.

Of course, not every army can eat the same food as the soldiers in Suiye City, the key still depends on the local conditions.

This kind of food for them is already very good in frontier soldiers and horses.

"Is this all for today?"

Seeing that his younger brother Zhu Cijiong only ate half a bowl of food, Zhu Ciyun was a little surprised.

Of course, this so-called bowl is a three-jin bowl. People who don’t work usually eat the bottom of the bowl, and even ordinary people who work only eat half a bowl.

However, for soldiers in the army, it is normal to eat a catty of rice and two catties of vegetables for a meal.

After all, as soon as you leave the barracks, you need to go out with more than ten catties of armor and more than ten catties of weapons. It takes more than ten miles to walk, and the cavalry has to patrol dozens of miles before returning. Usually, they eat two breads at noon, so they have a meal for dinner. Three catties of food is considered restrained.

"I ate three at noon, and I have accumulated food, so I will eat less now."

Zhu Cijiong was also helpless towards his brother, so he could only answer honestly.

Seeing that he was making fun of his younger brother, Zhu Cixuan also showed a smile on his face, and then he and Zhu Cixuan found Li Dingguo together.

At this moment, Li Dingguo was sitting with a dozen or so chief banner officers having a meal, and everyone was talking about some things they encountered while patrolling.

"The northern captives have recently used troops against Kazakhs. They have been more honest, and there are no sentries to patrol the border."

"Whoever he is, just raise your gun and shoot when he gets close."

The general banner officers in the army are relatively young, after all, they also belong to the category of grassroots officers, most of them are 27 or [-] years old.

Although they looked relatively young, most of them were veterans who joined the army after graduating from government schools at the age of seventeen or eighteen, and had worked in the army for more than ten years.

Zhu Cixuan and Zhu Cijiong often have to learn from them. After all, military affairs are not only about theory.

"There may be a war next year. Prepare yourself after you finish your meal. Starting from this month, you will add shooting training twice a month."

Li Dingguo listened to the words of the garrison and chief banner officers, and told them about the extra training.

"Yes!" Hearing this, many generals were gearing up, obviously eager for military achievements.

For them, shooting training is one of the trainings that can be "lazy".

Compared with long-distance running and riding with more than ten catties of armor and more than ten catties of weapons hanging on your body, lying on the ground, or sitting on a horse and raising a gun to shoot is relatively easy training.

What's more, due to the production capacity of the military industry, each shooting training is just a hundred rounds per person. Except for the time-consuming cleaning of the barrel after shooting, normal training does not take too much time.

"Okay, I'm done eating, you can eat by yourself."

Li Dingguo stood up, greeted him, then turned and left.

After he left, the topic of everyone began to change to daily life, basically talking about vacations and some things at home, or some interesting things during the patrol.

Zhu Cixuan and Zhu Cijiong listened with great interest, and after hearing that everyone had eaten almost the same amount, they picked up the bowls to clean and put them away, and then walked side by side in the barracks to prepare for digestion.

"This place is much more fun than the Forbidden City."

Zhu Cijiong, who was alone with Zhu Cijiong, relaxed a lot, and Zhu Cijiong also nodded when he heard the words: "At most, the body is tired every day, and the spirit is not very tired."

"It's when I'm dealing with the memorial together with my eldest brother, that makes people feel tired and uncomfortable."

"Yes..." Zhu Cixuan couldn't help but nodded in approval:
"I kind of know why Uncle Qi is always so serious. It's not that he likes to put on a straight face, but that after dealing with too many memorials, he becomes tense."

"In my opinion, elder brother is not as comfortable as you and me. At least you and I can have our own time to read and play around every day besides training."

"On the other hand, elder brother, since the end of the South Tour, he has been trapped in the Forbidden City. How can he come to Suiye City, which is thousands of miles away?"

Zhu Cixuan said complacently, but when Zhu Cijiong heard the words, he suddenly remembered something, frowned and said:
"Second brother, I'm still more worried about my uncle's affairs."

"You and I have been in the army for so long, and [-]% of the generals in this army who are self-defensive are basically related to the Yanshan faction."

"If uncle really leaves the capital and becomes a feudal clan..."

Three points full of words, Zhu Cijiong didn't continue, but Zhu Cixuan could guess what he meant.

He couldn't help frowning, and then rubbed his brows with his hands: "That's what I'm worried about now."

"But in the face of this matter, there is nothing I can do at the moment."

"However, I believe that Brother Li must have a solution. If not, the Southern Army and the Western Army will support us, so there should be no chaos."

"And there is..." Zhu Cixuan showed a bit of helplessness while talking:

"You have to write a letter with me to ask Dad to go back to Beijing earlier and take over part of the power from my uncle. Otherwise, if my uncle suddenly handed over the power, I'm afraid the whole Ming Dynasty will be in chaos."

"Alas... Actually, I hope that my uncle will not be a fan."

Zhu Cixuan's words made Zhu Cijiong silent. After all, compared with Zhu Youxiao, Zhu Youjian taught them more truths and thought more about them.

Thinking of this, even Zhu Cijiong's meticulous temperament couldn't help but sigh:

"Forget it, let's see what uncle is going to do..."

　Tomorrow's update is normal at twelve o'clock

　　
　
(End of this chapter)