Jingming

Chapter 328
Before the news from the capital reached Xuanda, Yu Dayou had already come to Shuozhou to take up his post.

Shuozhou Wei is not at the forefront of Datong Town's defense system, but it is actually very important.

At this time, to the west of Datong Town, there is a line of defense composed of Pingluwei, Yulinwei, Yunchuanwei, Jingping Guard Qianhusuo and other fortresses and piers in the west. The main defense is the enemy soldiers coming from the direction of Hetao. .

The north direction is the direct entrance to Datong.And in the direction almost due south of Datong town is Yingzhou, which already belongs to the hinterland of the south.

Shuozhou Wei, in the southwest of Yingzhou, and in the middle of Yingzhou, there are two thousand households in Mayi and Shanyin, which are distributed along the Sanggan River.

Shuozhou, Mayi, and Jingping are forming horns.

There are still a lot of soldiers stationed in the hinterland, just because this is the upper reaches of the Sanggan River.

Both men and horses are inseparable from water. If a large army of Mongolian cavalry attacked, one route would be to attack Yanghekou from the tributary of the Sanggan River just north of Datong.If you take this route, you will encounter the town of Datong in the southwest of Baideng Mountain by the river—this is a solid nail.

Another route is to enter from the west road to kill the tiger, Koujingping, Shuozhou.If you gain a firm foothold here, you will be able to push all the way to the entire Sanggan River Basin area in Datong Town, and even bypass the frontal defense of Xuanfu Town along the Sanggan River to reach Juyongguan.Or instead of fighting Juyongguan, they head south to Yuzhou, and then take Feihuxing, one of the eight Taihang Xings, to Laiyuan. Then they can pass through Puyinxing to attack the relatively less difficult Bauhinia Pass or continue southward to defeat the enemy. Maguan.

This kind of thing has already happened once, and that is the Civil Fort Change.At that time, after defeating the main force of the Ming army, the Oala army attacked Bauhinia Pass along the above route, so as to avoid the edge of Juyongguan.

Datong Town is actually not easy to defend, because the mountains around Datong are relatively gentle, and the Great Wall defense line is not easy to use.Zhang Wenjin has always advocated the construction of the Xuanning Five Forts, because the section of the Great Wall just north of Datong is no longer effective.

And Daming is also very aware of this situation, so south of the line of Shuozhou, Mayi, Shanyin, and Yingzhou, the section where Datong Town and Shanxi Town meet extends all the way to the northwest of Beijing, and there is an Inner Great Wall.

From west to east, there are Piantou Pass, Ningwu Pass, Yanmen Pass, Pingxing Pass, Daoma Pass, Zijing Pass and other passes.

You see, there are more northern passes such as Shahu Pass and Yanghe Pass, but the outer three passes are Piantou Pass that guards the Yellow River Valley, Ningwu Pass that guards the Luliang Mountain Road, and Yanmen Pass that guards the Xinzhou Basin.The inner three passes are Juyong Pass, Zijing Pass, and Daoma Pass—passing through them is the capital.

The outer three gates are the gates, and the inner three gates are the bedroom gates.What about Datong Town and Xuanfu Town outside the Outer Three Passes?

courtyard.Although many people were sent to guard it, it was actually a vegetable garden with dilapidated courtyard walls and vegetables stolen by foreign enemies for many years.

Now, Yu Dayou looked at the "Vegetable Farmer Chief" in front of him, feeling icy to the bone.

"Commander, this is the busiest time right now! How can I say it, we have to wait until the wheat is harvested in May!"

Standing in front of him were the officials from the Shuozhou Guard who had come to see him neatly.

Below him, there are two commanders of Shuozhou Wei, Tongzhi, four commanders of Qianshi, two Wei Zhenfu, and five people from thousands of households.

It was one of the thousand households who spoke, named Yu Shouke.

The answer was Yu Dayou's question about drills.

He smiled and continued: "Commander, I am in the same family as you. It is not easy for the big guys to tell you, so I will report to the commander. You came to Shuozhou to help Datong Town prepare military rations. Northwest Bianjingping and Mayi in the northeast, those are the elite soldiers deployed by the Chief Soldier here. They are guarding the Qianhusuo, we are all guarding the Qianhusuo, prepare, prepare."

Yu Dayou knew this.

Ordinarily, there are five houses under one guard, all of which are called Beiyu Qianhusuo.Although the Shouyu Qianhusuo had almost the same number of troops as the Beiyu Qianhusuo, and had the same generals, it was directly subordinate to the capital and had its own independent garrison area.

Now, there is Jingping Road Counselor Liu Kai stationed in Jingping Qianhu Office, and Li Jian, a guerrilla general in Mayi Qianhu Office.

But the Shuozhou guards are really farmers, and the generals are all supervisors?
"Commander, you are the champion of martial arts hand-picked by His Majesty. You have never heard of such a high position. People with low ranks know that you want to train troops and make meritorious service to serve the emperor." Ai Xingzhi, one of the commanders of Shuozhou Guards, said with a flattering smile, "Commander Don't worry, although the military rations are heavy, Shuozhou Guard still has an elite army. This can't be helped, the border guards are three-point guards and seven-point guards as usual. But the frontier army is seriously fleeing, and we Shuozhou Guard still has an elite army , It is already extremely rare. Commanding martial arts is world-class, strategic strategy is unparalleled, with this elite army, commanding and recruiting soldiers, Datong has no shortage of opportunities to win and make achievements!"

He took it for granted, and Yu Dayou nodded lightly: Not only did the frontier army escape seriously, but they also had a lot of vacancies.So does Shuozhou Wei really have a thousand elite soldiers as he said?
Seeing him nodding his head, more people spoke.

"The news that the commander is coming to Shuozhou Guard, the humble officials have long posted notices inside and outside the city. The commander only brought an imperial guard and a military adviser to Shuozhou. Scholars are coming here admiringly. To tell you the truth, the humble officers have already accepted many people's invitations to serve, and they are all good players who count as ten! If the command doesn't believe it, the humble officers will call them here."

"The township sages, gentry, and big households in Shuozhou are also looking forward to the conductor being able to take the time to meet them. I am afraid that the conductor will be tired all the way, so I want to ask the conductor about the arrangement first..."

"I heard that the commander is not yet married, Shuozhou, Yingzhou, Taiyuan, Fenyang... everywhere is fried. The humble staff laughed so hard after hearing about it, and they didn't even take a picture. There is a wealthy businessman who doesn’t know how much he is. What is his status, and he wants to ask someone to kiss him?”

"..."

Seeing that Yu Dayou's expression didn't change, the generals sitting in the official hall gradually became bolder.

They spoke very directly, as if they were so straightforward in the army.

They also praised Yu Dayou with a look of admiration, as if they were deeply proud of serving under the command of the champion of martial arts.

They also directly stated that Yu Dayou grew up in Fujian since he was a child, and he still needs someone to take care of him when he comes to Shuozhou.Servants, servants, food, lodging and daily necessities, everyone must give the "boss" a martial arts champion gift.

Yu Dayou has been listening quietly, even a smile gradually appeared on the corner of his mouth, it seems that the atmosphere is getting more and more harmonious.

Then he nodded: "I understand. There are soldiers, but there is only one. The important task of defending against the enemy is not in Shuozhou Wei. The wheat here is harvested in May?"

"That's right!" Yu Shouke replied, "Last year the Tartars came here and damaged a lot of wheat seedlings. Fortunately, the snow fell and the remaining wheat grew well. Now, it's time to start planting potatoes. It's the season. This sweet potato is a good thing. Before Zhu Zongbing returned to Beijing, he asked someone to distribute a lot of seeds from Shanxi and Shaanxi..."

"How much is the task of my Shuozhou Wei garrison? How many farms are there in total?" Yu Dayou seemed to be a little unclear. , I, Shuozhou Wei, still have another salary?"

Yu Shou said with a smile: "Ai Tongzhi knows this best. Of course, there must be money, and now it is converted into silver. But silver can't be eaten, and the grain is uniformly arranged by Datong, but even if it is only for the border The army, Datong has so many troops, but it is far from enough."

Ai Xingzhi told him a number: Shuozhou Wei now has a total of 930 hectares of farmland, but the land in Datong is barren, and one hectare of land can only harvest more than 20 stones a year.These grains are the total output. According to the system, a military family receives [-] acres of land, and the guards provide farm tools and seeds. The guards collect tax grains, which are called Tuntian grains.Nowadays, the rule is to pay every three years, one bucket and two liters per mu, and fifty mu is six stones.

For a field of [-] mu of land, a total of six stones will be paid in three years, and each mu of land is four buckets of grain per year. It seems that the burden is not heavy.

Yu Dayou nodded: "That is to say, my Shuozhou Wei has about [-] shi of grain per year on average."

"Exactly!" Ai Xingzhi sighed, "Nowadays, the frontier army has a small family, and the monthly rations are eight; For a death, the salary is more than [-] shi a year. Eight thousand shi every year is enough to garrison the grain. How can it be enough to eat? Nearly [-] hectares of farmland, and an additional [-] taels of salary. This is my family property of Shuozhou Wei. , can only depend on luck."

"I see. I heard that last year's salary and the reward money for the Shuozhou Great Victory have already been distributed?"

"Exactly. Although I, the Shuozhou Guard, did not make great achievements, I was rewarded by the officers and soldiers with 490 three taels of silver. Commander, please take a look. The soldiers' silver paintings and account books are all here."

Yu Dayou took the things in his hands and slowly looked through them.

In the room, some of the other people drank tea and some looked at each other, waiting quietly for Yu Dayou to speak.

After a long time, Yu Dayou closed the booklet, looked at them, and said: "Since I have been favored by the emperor to come to Shuozhou, I still have to straighten out the guards first. How about this, the commander of the elite army will order it tomorrow. Take a look. The guards are going to the fields, and the soldiers are small. The commander also needs to visit one or two first to understand the situation of the guards. The city wall, defense and other miscellaneous matters, Mr. Zhao, the command committee, will patrol first, and ask Ai Tongzhi to arrange it .”

"Commander, rest assured."

Yu Dayou was silent for a moment and then said: "This commander is new here, everyone, I will take the lead first. The local elders, rich families, and the prefect of Shuozhou have already written a letter, why don't we meet together."

Seeing Yu Dayou open his mouth to accept their wishes, he was very happy for a while.

Afterwards, Yu Dayou just smiled and asked them about the scenery of Shuozhou and Datong, as well as the past of Bianzhen Shouyu over the years.

When he finished the meeting and returned to the backyard, he saw Zhao Benxue frowning at the dummy with a straight face.

Even when he came to Bianzhen, he now practiced two-handed swordsmanship with his disciples.

"Zheng Chuan hasn't come back yet?"

Zhao Benxue shook his head, put away his wooden sword, walked to the stone pier in the courtyard and sat down: "What can you tell from his strange face? I'm afraid that many people are staring at him."

Yu Dayou smiled: "It's a good thing to stare at him. Once you stare at him, you won't be able to stare at other people."

"You don't have to wait for them to come all the way here to vote for you." Zhao Benxue looked at him after drinking the water, "The elite soldiers must be their servants. They take a share of the salary and only listen to them. If you want to train soldiers, Nothing new. If you want to train soldiers, you need to be paid. If you want to recruit servants and private soldiers like them, you will not be clean."

Along the way, Zhao Benxue gradually became more talkative.

When people have no real hope, they can just study it calmly as knowledge.

If you really have a chance, you will worry about gains and losses, no matter how difficult it is to cultivate your energy freely.

Now, on the contrary, Yu Dayou is more calm.

"Didn't you know these things before you came?"

"How do you break the game?" Zhao Benxue looked at his proud disciple.

"Don't be in a hurry." Yu Dayou sighed, "Wait for Lu Bing and his ten guards from the same department who entered Jinyiwei to come over, and wait for Tang Shunzhi to come over."

"You want him to help?"

"The town here is complicated, they are watching me so closely, it is better to know the truth first." Yu Dayou looked at it very openly, "Besides, after all, he is Lord Futai. The right to ask questions. The situation in Datong cannot be broken by one person. If you want to harvest winter wheat, you should harvest it first. After all, it is still grain.”

"Zhifu." Zhao Benxue stared at him, "This is a dye vat, you have to stick to your heart!"

"I know that Your Majesty wants you to be by my side so that I can guard against my arrogance and impetuosity." Yu Dayou said with a smile, "Don't worry, sir, I understand His Majesty's intention to bring me back to Shuozhou. The biggest problem in Border Town is always Money and food."

……

Tang Shunzhi had just passed Datong and was marching on the outskirts of Huairen County to the south of Datong.

"This is Zhenzihai?" He looked at the vast mist not far away.

"Futai, this is Zhenzihai. Huairen Townzihai carp is a must in Datong."

The governor has no official subordinates, and now in Datong, apart from the pacesetters and generals who traveled with him, Tang Shunzhi only has two more staff around him.

One was an old friend from the past, and the other was a local who had been introduced to him by Yang Yiqing and had lived in Datong for a long time.Both of them are just juren.

"The arable land by the lake seems quite fertile." Tang Shunzhi immediately pointed there, "I heard that Zhenzihai is fifty miles away on Thursday?"

"It's gone now." Hou Anyong, a Juren who was born in Datong Lingqiu, said, "Up to now, the circumference of Zhenzihai is at most thirty miles."

"Oh? Why?"

"Garn fields, live in people." Hou Anyong pointed to the mountains in the distance again, "Firewood harvesting is banned in border towns, but it is not forbidden to open mountains and open fields. Datong has more and more farmland, but less and less grain. I am in Lingqiu I heard that Datong reported ten disasters in five years. During the Yongle period, there were more than 13 Datong defenders. Today, it is about 40. Counting military households, if one household counts as four, three or four million. How much do you have?"

"Yanran has an account in mind?"

Hou Anyong said angrily: "Forty thousand hectares, there will only be more, not less! One hectare is one hundred mu, and the grains in the farmland are two hundred stones a year. Forty thousand hectares, that is 800 million stones! There are 1000 million stones, and it is not yet known That’s not to mention the generals’ exploitation, the military households actually paid more for farming. General He Shen, you were the commander of the Shuozhou Guard last year, don’t you think so?”

He Xun was silent for a moment, and then said: "I was recommended by General Counselor Yang, and I was selected to go to the capital competition in March when I was in Shuozhou Wei. Shuozhou Wei, I can't get involved at all. I can only train my family soldiers. I As soon as he left Datong, Zheng Minghui, the acquaintance of the commander, took over the command position. After the victory in Shuozhou, he officially took over, and now I am serving as a general of the Xuanda Governor's Model Battalion. I really dare not say what Mr. Hou said is right or wrong."

"Your Majesty awarded the general flag! What are you afraid to say?" Hou Anyong was a little angry.

Tang Shunzhi also looked at He Xun, then smiled.

Along the way, he heard Tang Shunzhi and others talking about the situation in Datong, and it was obvious that he was very uneasy.

What's more, now that Hou Anyong is talking about the fundamental problems of border towns?
"Futai, Datong only has about [-] generals! The imperial court still worries about the food and wages of the border towns every year, and even ten million stones a year can't feed Datong! If things go on like this, how can we talk about the end of the crisis?" Hou Anyong fiercely exported.

Tang Shunzhi was silent for a moment, and then laughed: "General Counselor Yang said that you call yourself Yan Ran, you always have the wish to strangle stones, and you have the generosity of Zhao Di, and it is true."

Then he sighed again: "In the books, Datong only has 580 hectares of farmland. Depending on the year, the farm grain is about 50 and 300 shi. The monthly grain of 50 generals, plus the travel grain, A year’s salary is more than [-] million shi. There is not enough food in the village. The imperial court allocates money to Datong, with an annual average of [-] taels. According to the price of Daming grain, one tael of silver should buy three or four shi of grain. In Datong, one tael of silver can only be bought More than two stones."

He looked at Hou Anyong: "If Datong has so much food a year, where does the food go?"

"Li Fuda, the man Guo Zongbing interceded with, why is he so rich? Taiyuan Zuowei Fenhe is a rich place, so it's good for farming." Hou Anyong stared at Tang Shunzhi, "Futai, I admire your talent and ambition. With all due respect, Datong, the town here, is deadlocked. Most of the soldiers who can fight are private soldiers of generals and officers. Without these soldiers, Datong is useless. To support these soldiers, generals must have money and food. It's clear, where does the money and food come from? Cut off the benefits of grain storage, empty pay, false claims, and sharing of private markets, and the elite soldiers in the border town will collapse, and the northern captives will drive straight in!"

After finishing speaking, he snorted and looked at He Xun again.

After a pause, he continued: "It's not just one person, but most of the border towns. It's been like this for nearly a hundred years!"

Tang Shunzhi nodded: "I know these things, General Counselor Yang and Wang Shangshu know it, and His Majesty knows it too. Shuozhou won a victory, and there is no reason to move the border town lightly."

"In the long run, how can we defend against the enemy? How can we drive out the Tartars? My self-named Yanran is just admiring the martial arts of the Han Dynasty, and lamenting the current situation of persevering, just to comfort myself."

The civil and military champions who have just arrived are learning about the actual situation in Datong in their own ways.

Tang Shunzhi comforted him: "No hurry, Yan Ran, no hurry."

"Hey." Hou Anyong sighed, and then asked, "Wang Dutai's border town is stable, and he doesn't want Futai to intervene in food and payment matters. Now that Futai is going to Shuozhou, he is talking about food and payment matters. What is it? "

Tang Shunzhi replied solemnly: "I have no dispute with Dutai!"

Both staff members looked at him.

"Is that so, General He Shen?"

He Xun's scalp was numb: "Futai, don't dare to lie under the mark."

One is the governor of Xuanda, and the other is the 20-year-old Uncle Jingbian, the governor of Xuanda. He Xun is very puzzled why the emperor's new appointment to him is Tang Shunzhi's standard battalion general.

Tang Shunzhi shook the reins: "There is no dispute! The governor is in charge of the distribution of food and salaries, and the governor is in charge of the raising of food and salaries. Since Yan Ran said that there is actually so much grain in Datong Town, then the governor is going to find out these grains. He Shen General, how about going to the Shuozhou Wei that you are familiar with first?"

"...Why do you need to ask for the bid?"

"I don't know how Yu Dayou is now in Shuozhou?" Tang Shunzhi smiled very interestedly, "Our two civil and military champions who jointly signed the Shangshu war will gather in Shuozhou again. Who else is there to participate in the former commander of Shuozhou Guards?" Make it lively."

Hou Anyong's eyes flashed brightly: "Futai, raise food and wages? How did you break the situation when you went to Shuozhou? I follow Futai, and I always have to talk about it. Please refer to the details."

"Let's go and have a look first, then we'll talk, and then we'll talk." Tang Shunzhi glanced at Zhenzihai again, "Since it is the best of Datong, is there any carp from Zhenzihai in the inn ahead?"

"...Of course there is. Futai, you are the respected Uncle Jingbian, what did you do here in Datong, tell me."

"I have to practice and practice, first taste the flavor of the border town!" Tang Shunzhi smacked his mouth, "I have a great appetite!"

(End of this chapter)