Jingming

Chapter 325 Exit!

In early spring and February, the weather in Datong Town has not completely warmed up, but the snow has already melted.

The official position of Liu Kai, the general of Jingping City in Datong Town, is not low, and he is also a high-ranking officer in the entire Datong Town.

According to the system, Datong Town has a chief soldier stationed in Datong Town, and a left deputy chief soldier stationed in Zuowei City.Next, there are nine guards and generals.Among these nine people, apart from Zuoye Shenjiang, the pacesetter battalion that would be set up when Datong had a special governor, the other eight were divided into different places.Next, according to the defense arrangement, there are two guerrilla generals, four guerrilla guards, two officers in the camp, and 39 guards guarding the castles.

Last year, the northern captive invaded Shuozhou, and the general Liu Kai and the guerrilla general Li Jian who defended the west road "made meritorious service" in defending the fort. Each was awarded some additional titles and an extra salary.

If it wasn't for Zhu Zhen's transfer to the Zuojun Governor's Mansion, then it would be a good result that he has liked for many years.

"General, a letter from the He family, asking about the ponytail fur..."

Just as Liu Kai got up from the bed of his concubine in Jingping City, his butler was waiting on him and asking for advice.

"Tell them not to worry." Liu Kai sat quietly, waiting for the girl next to him to clean his face, and spit out this sentence.

"Last year's battle, the money allocated by the imperial court and the reward money are almost here." The steward pretended that the girl didn't exist, and continued, "There are two guards in the fort, and hundreds of households in the two piers have sent people to ask The small one, the post money... Also, we all know such a large amount of money, besides, after the spring, the rations, grain seeds, and the goods we need to buy and sell... Datong, Zhu Chi and General Zhen Guo Zhu Junliang sent people to send letters, and all the commercial firms in Datong, especially Huangmingji, are waiting for our news."

Liu Kai grabbed the girl's hand, made him stop, and then looked at the butler: "Zhu Chi said that?"

"Here's the letter!" The butler's eyes lit up, "General, Zongbing Zhu's intention is that everything remains the same."

"You go down first." Liu Kai sent away the girl who was helping him to wash up, and took the letter in his hand first.

Zhu Chi is Zhu Zhen's younger brother, and has been taking care of some chores for him.

This letter is indeed Zhu Chi's own handwriting.Without Zhu Zhen's nod, he certainly didn't dare to write to Jingping, saying that everything was ready in Datong.

"You go and call An Xingkui, I want to ask about the movement on the Tartar side."

In the Ming Dynasty's frontier defense army system, there are two special types of arms, one is called the pier army, and the other is called the night-buying army.

The pier army is a very small guard, in charge of watching the enemy's tower and passing the beacon.There are ten people in the big pier and five people in the small pier. They are always at the forefront. The problems of eating and drinking are not small. They are the most difficult type of soldiers in the frontier army.

The only thing that makes no difference to them is that they don't accept them at night.This type of arms is actually patrolling and sentrying. Because they do not return to the camp at night, they are called no collection at night.

These two arms are collectively called the pier sentry army.Under normal conditions, Datong Town has a total of about 5000 generals organized into the Dunshou Army, who are responsible for patrolling, investigating, and military intelligence investigation at the outermost perimeter of the hundreds of miles of defense line that Datong Town is responsible for.

Regarding the living conditions of the Dunshao Army, a minister once made a comment after his inspection tour in Datong during the Hongzhi period: The sergeant ran through the wind and frost, his face was miserable, and his armor was not brown.His wife lived in a mud hut, half without smoke.Seven or eight-year-old men and women, there are still those who are naked and facing the sun.

On the west side of Jingping, there are only two Dunjuns commanded by hundreds of households.Now that Liu Kai's housekeeper mentioned it, they all came to ask Dunjun about posting money.

Because the Dun army was the most difficult, the imperial court gave them subsidies.In addition to Dunjun's fixed salary of two stones per person per month, Datong Town also gave Dunshaojun an additional subsidy for every two people to reassure them.

Now, food and wages have been increasingly converted into silver.According to the current price of grain in the border town of Datong, one stone of grain is between two and three.According to the regulations, the monthly rations of the Dunshao Army range from ten thousand taels to several thousand taels.The imperial court gave enough treatment to the pier sentry army for their hard work.However, how much of this silver, especially the pasted silver, fell into the pockets of soldiers?
An Xingkui's official position is Deputy Qianhu, and he is now in charge of the West Road Dunshou Army distributed in Jingping.

When he saw Liu Kai, his first question was also: "General Liu Shen, when will we be able to pay the salary and subsidy for our West Road pier sentries? The brothers below are all waiting eagerly."

"What's the rush? Datong has to figure it out, and Lord Guo hasn't arrived yet." Liu Kai looked at him, "Let me ask you, after the Tartars suffered a loss last year, it's spring now, is there any movement in the north? "

An Xingkui shook his head: "My subordinates don't accept them at night. I've already gone to the separate tents to ask. They only asked when the private market can be opened. Horsetails, furs, they are all ready in winter."

Liu Kai was a little annoyed: "Last year it was necessary to cast iron hoe, iron plow and iron rake, so there were fewer pots! Did they say why they suddenly invaded the border?"

It was those thousands of riders heading south that broke the tacit understanding of the past few years.

"Then they can't be the masters, they are all small tribes."

"Small tribe?" Liu Kai sneered, "the appetite in Fengzhoutan is getting bigger and bigger. Have you forgotten that Liu Gui was decapitated in the 11th year of Hongzhi? How can the private market be so big! I want something, Just send an envoy to ask for tribute!"

"General Liu Shen, let alone these things. According to the reports from my subordinates, there is no further call from the Tartars. I have suffered a loss, and I must also know that it is best to go as usual. He wants to fight for supremacy in the grassland, but Can't do without our private market here in Xuanda. Send an envoy to ask for tribute? He is a lord of ten thousand households, is he worthy?"

General Liu Kai smiled disdainfully, as if he wasn't the one who huddled in Jingping Castle in fear of the cavalry under I Da's command last year and dared not go out.

After finishing talking, Liu Kai said: "Talk about the business. I have already got the letter. You will send Ye Bushuo to ask again, and arrange a day for the Dunjun to sit on the sentry. When will this private market open? Wait until I come back." Ask the commander-in-chief."

"General Liu Can, you just say it clearly! Now, the general is still the commander in chief, and the soldiers are all looking forward to it! Last year, some sentry troops were lost, and those who make up for it now are all going to the private market. It’s best to get things done before Master Guo comes. This private market has been opened once, and this year there may be no more troubles, and the general is also helping Lord Hou to straighten out Datong’s border affairs!"

"I see, you have to make arrangements first, so that there will be no mistakes on the Tartar side."

The border guards of the Ming and Yuan Dynasties, who were like mortal enemies, the generals, generals, middle-level generals, and even low-level soldiers who guarded the border seemed to have other friendships with the "Tartars" they called.

This kind of tacit friendship has lasted for nearly a hundred years, and it has become more and more "close" since the end of the tribute.

Even Liu Gui, the commander of Datong Avant-Garde in the 11th year of Hongzhi, was shown to the public for selling weapons to the Mongols privately, but it did not stop this kind of friendship from "deepening" one iota.

Not long after An Xingkui left, Liu Kai welcomed another acquaintance.

"Commander Zheng, why did you come to Jingping?" He looked at Zheng Minghui, the commander of the Shuozhou Guard, in astonishment.

"Haven't you read the official document yet? The Ministry of War ordered me to go to Zhenluwei." Zheng Minghui's expression was not good.

Liu Kai's face was also a bit ugly. He hadn't read the official document sent recently, but the ugly face was not because of this: "Why?"

"Why?" Zheng Minghui patted the table, "There is no other reason, because after being admonished by the emperor, he went to the border to defend himself! He is a majestic champion of martial arts, and his father is the deputy of Quanzhou Wei. Qianhu, so I will come to Shuozhou, which was demolished last year, to take Lao Tzu's place!"

"...Wu Zhuangyuan? To Shuozhou?" Liu Kai's face became even more ugly, so how should he treat a stunned young man as a general guarding the West Road at Jingping?

The problem is that he is not a simple stunned young man, he is the champion of martial arts hand-picked by His Majesty, the first martial arts champion in Ming Dynasty to pass the palace examination and have a formal confession.

"You know how much trouble there is." Zheng Minghui looked at Liu Kai, "I have broken a fort here, and I have been robbed a lot. I will admit it when I was transferred to Zhenluwei. The whole town of Datong, Yu Dayou will come to manage Shuozhou Wei, is General Liu Shen ready?"

Among the many guards in Datong Town, the area around Shuozhou has the largest scale of newly added fields in recent years.

During the Zhengde period, the Shuozhou Guard here had only 250 hectares of farmland, the Pinglu Guard had only [-] hectares, and the Mayi Thousand Households where the guerrilla general Li Jian was located had only more than [-] hectares. So there was basically no farming at first.

But now, in just ten years or so, thanks to the "efforts" of any of the West Road generals, Shuozhou Wei has more than [-] hectares of land, Pinglu Wei has more than [-] hectares, and Jingping guards thousands of households. It is basically from nothing to more than [-] hectares of farmland.

Farming, needless to say, was done by soldiers and military households.

The newly added farmlands were naturally "reclaimed".

But now Zheng Minghui asked Liu Kai if he was ready, but Liu Kai was a little creepy.

Last year, except for the border towns, all the provinces in the south were clearing their fields.

Therefore, the size of the military settlements in Datong Town, especially Shuozhou, is actually based on the figures of the Zhengde period at the imperial court.

But it's not good for Yu Dayou to go, why did he come to Shuozhou?

He came, and now Shuozhouwei actually has more than 5000 hectares of farmland. Doesn't the emperor know about it?
"...Since you are going to Zhenluwei, you should first go to Datong and ask Zongbing Zhu." Liu Kai frowned, "The Tartars came from us last year because Shuozhou is not what it used to be. Shuozhou is now the granary of Datong, there must be no loss!"

"I just snatched a lot of potato seeds harvested last year from Taiyuan!" Zheng Minghui was very depressed. "The farmland of Zhenluwei is less than [-] hectares! Less than [-]!"

At this moment, Guo Xun and Yu Dayou were just getting ready to set off from the capital to Datong.

Thousands of households in Datong Town are entering the "busy farming" season, urging soldiers and military households to take care of the winter wheat planted last year.

There was a great victory, and Marquis Wu Ding went to sit in town. From Taiyuan to the north or other directions, there were many merchants' carts and horses on the road carrying goods to Datong.

There are even businessmen from Jiangnan.

"I don't know how many ponytails I can receive this year, but now everyone is asking for ponytail hats."

Someone is looking forward to it.Because of the war last year, many people in the south of the Yangtze River and even in Beijing lost a large source of raw materials for the coats and hats decorated with horsetail hair.After the establishment of the group of herd supervisors, they don't dare to supply as much as they did in previous years.

Now that the Tartars have suffered a defeat, the next few years should be much more peaceful, right?

Businessmen are chasing profits on the way.

In Datong Town, besides the government offices, there is also a Dai Fan who is waiting to move to the capital.

Today's acting king is the fifth generation, he is already very old and very low-key, he doesn't leave the palace all day long.

But the generation of vassals has actually multiplied on a large scale, and now the middle and low-level clans other than the county king are also very confused.

The emperor allowed them to test for official positions, and also allowed them to do business.

Some people are planning to go to the capital with Dai Wang, while others feel that they have a better chance in Datong.

At this time, Zhu Junliang, the general of Fengguo, was entertaining Zhu Xingjun, the manager of Huangmingji Datong branch.

"What does the Duke of England say?"

Zhu Xingjun replied with a smile when he heard the words: "Don't worry, General Fengguo. Since Your Majesty has made an order, and General Zhu has so many connections in Datong, I have already asked the head office for instructions. There must be no problem with this matter. I believe it will not be long." , General Zhu, the manager of the grain bank, will come down."

"What General Fengguo, don't mention it!" Zhu Junliang toasted him, "Then thank you very much, and I need you to take care of me in the future!"

"Don't dare, I'm the one with the bloodline of General Fengguo's Tian family. Besides, I'm in charge of the Datong semicolon, and I have to rely on Manager Zhu for this year's profit."

"Get rich together, get rich together, hahahaha."

After several years, Huangmingji's tentacles have come to more and more places, and the middle and high-level staff in it have become more and more complicated.

Now in Datong, the person in charge here has also contacted the clan of Dai Fan.

Relying on the contacts and channels they have accumulated in Datong Town for so many years, everyone came together because of the word "get rich".

Winter is over and a new year of business is about to begin.

Datong Town, which has just won a "big victory", is full of vitality everywhere.

Ragged and emaciated soldiers tended the winter wheat that had been moistened by last year's snow in the barren field ridges.

Outside the Great Wall, the sentry of the Ming Dynasty was very conscientious. They did not stop the army at night to investigate the enemy's situation. They were so "valiant" that they even rode horses to the vicinity of the Mongolian soldiers' tents, and even dared to "confront" the Tartar cavalry face to face within ten steps. , Shout out to each other "slap guns".

In the northwest of the capital, Yu Dayou, who saw Juyongguan, looked at the Xiongguan, but his voice was not without loneliness: "Besides Juyongguan, is the situation in the border town like this now?"

Zhao Benxue was silent for a while, and then said: "Your Majesty is ambitious, but you can't easily solve these problems. Even you and me, if there is no General Counselor Yang, Wang Shangshu and others to dissect the truth, how can we know that the border town has become so corrupt? Go to If you leave Shuozhou Wei, you will be on the cusp."

"Arranging for me to go to Shuozhou is really a heavy task!" Yu Dayou looked at the teacher who had become his staff and staff, "Mr. Zhao, it's going to be difficult!"

"This is your first test." Zhao Benxue stared at him, "Your Majesty trusts you very much. If you want to become a famous general, how can you be afraid of such a small difficulty?"

"Yes." Yu Dayou lightly pinched the horse's belly, "Exit!"

In the capital behind him, Tang Shunzhi had already passed the policy test, and the next level was the imperial test.

Perhaps in terms of pure knowledge, it is difficult to catch up with him or surpass him.

But knowledge and practice are different.

The opportunities for the earl, even the marquis, and the duke are all outside this pass, in the border town.

On February [-]th of the sixth year of Jiajing, Guo Xun, Marquis of Wuding, and Yu Dayou, the champion of Bingxu Kewu, left Juyongguan together and went to Datong.

The messy Datong.

(End of this chapter)