Late Ming sea owl

Chapter 124 The Dog-like Court

Red clay stoves, green ants' new wine, and snowy willows and peaches are arranged neatly on the Sudi opposite, like a silent and majestic army.

A small painting boat was parked not far from the Huxin Pavilion in the outer lake of West Lake. Inside were Feng Yidao and Waizui.

Lin Hai asked Ruan Mei to rent a boat, bought some wine and food, and then asked his entourage to return to the inn outside Wulin Gate.

But Feng Yidao insisted on being a personal guard, so Lin Hai let him and Waizui stay, while he and Wu Guoyi hugged each other in lavender clothes and drank together in the felt-covered pavilion in the middle of the lake.

The reason why I want to drink here is not to imitate Zhang Dai's Lake Pavilion to watch the snow. The main reason is that this place is inaccessible, surrounded by lake water covered with ice flowers, and I can talk without any scruples.

The winter night came very early, and Lin Hai and Wu Guoyi had been drinking together for more than an hour. The latter told Lin Hai his story with the help of wine.

His great-grandfather was named Wu Weizhong, a native of Yiwu, Zhejiang. He enlisted in the army when Qi Jiguang first went to Yiwu to recruit troops, and made great achievements in the process of following Qi Jiguang in the north and south.

In the Battle of Renchen in the first stage of the Wanli Korean War, Wu Weizhong commanded three thousand Qi's troops with the rank of general, and made another outstanding achievement in the Battle of Pyongyang that turned the tide of the war.

In this battle, Wu Weizhong was shot in the chest, but he still continued to fight and led his troops to capture the key commanding heights of Mudan Peak.

This is the undisputed achievement of being the first to arrive. However, because the Qi Army's military salary is much higher than that of the Beibing Army, there has always been a serious conflict between the Qi Army and the Beibing Army.

The head coach of the Ming Army, Li Rusong, was born in the Northern Army. In order to maintain his leadership foundation, he could only favor the Northern Army with poor military discipline, and arbitrarily squeezed and suppressed the strictly disciplined Qi Army. In the end, he gave the first victory in the Korean War to his direct descendants. force.

After the Korean War came to an end, Wu Weizhong was transferred to the south, and most of the Qi's army returned to guard Jizhen. When they reached Shimen, some sergeants asked their superiors for the military pay and silver rewards owed by the court. As a result, they were deceived by Wang Baoyu, the commander-in-chief of Jizhen, into practicing martial arts. field, trapping and killing hundreds of people.

In fact, the genuine Qi Jiajun ceased to exist.

Yes, the famous Qi family army was finally annihilated by the Ming Dynasty themselves, only seven years after the death of Marshal Qi.

After this incident, some officials in the DPRK complained for the Qi Jiajun, which led to the incident being involved in party disputes. It was eventually classified as a mutiny. The remaining Qi Jiajun troops were escorted south. Wang Bao, who raised the butcher knife to his subordinates, was credited with quelling the rebellion. Promoted to Yinzi.

Despite such unfair treatment, when the war in Korea resumed, Wu Weizhong, who was the deputy commander of the Zhejiang Coastal Defense Corps at the time, once again led [-] southern soldiers to fight in North Korea. This southern army was actually no longer the force brought out by Qi Jiguang. The real Qi Jiajun has disappeared in the long river of history.

In the Battle of Dingyou in the second phase of the Wanli Korean War, Ming army commander Yang Hao took the lead in escaping during the Battle of Ulsan, causing chaos throughout the army.At the critical moment, Wu Weizhong stepped forward again and led the southern troops to fight to the death to break off the rear.

After the war, Wu Weizhong resigned from the court and returned to his hometown in Yiwu to recuperate.As a result, he was impeached by Yan Guan, and the court directly removed him from office. In the end, this meritorious veteran did not even have a chance to retire with dignity.

After returning to his hometown, the frustrated Wu Weizhong declined the invitation and appointment of the local governor and died in the mountains of Yiwu.

Soon after, Wu Guoyi's father defected to Qi Jiguang's nephew, Jiangnan Deputy Commander Qi Jin. The young Wu Guoyi was also taken there, and was adopted as his adopted son by Qi Jin, who was said to have mastered Qi Jiguang's military skills, and personally taught him military tactics.

During the bloody battle of the Hun River, 65-year-old Qi Jin gave up his escape and died on the south bank of the Hun River. Wu Guoyi's two brothers died in the battle beside the general. Wu Guoyi and his father returned to Liaoyang City with the Youyang soldiers.

After arriving in Liaoyang City, Wu's father was determined to fight to the death, but he entrusted Wu Guoyi to Wu Dabin, the governor of Dongning Guard Town, and asked him to take his young son back to Zhejiang to support his old mother.

This Wu Dabin was a member of the Wu clan in Shanyin, but he was not from Wu Dui's clan.The reason why Wu's father was familiar with Wu Dabin was because Wu Weizhong and the Shanyin Wu family joined the clan at that time. This needs to talk about another person from the Shanyin Wu family.

This man's name was Wu Zongdao, who also participated in the Wanli Korean War. Wu Weizhong, who was born in a poor family, climbed up to the Wu family in Shanyin through his comradeship with Wu Zongdao. (The real thing is that Wu Weizhong did join the Wu family in Shanyin)

Wu Zongdao later served as a Zhenjiang guerrilla on the Yalu River. In the 37th year of Wanli, he and Wu Youfu, the father of Ren Wuye and the deputy commander-in-chief of Shandong at the time, were impeached and resigned by Xiong Tingbi. After Wu Youfu was dismissed, he returned to his hometown in Shanyin, but this Wu Zongdao has always lived in Zhenjiang.

In this way, Wu Guoyi followed Wu Dabin to flee before the city of Liaoyang was destroyed, and went to Zhenjiang to join Wu Zongdao. He was accompanied by Shen Shikui and others who sometimes paid for the teeth.

At this time, Zhenjiang was already an occupied area. Chen Liangce of the Chinese army conspired to rebel against the Jin Dynasty. Wu Zongdao, as the former guard, also participated in it, so he sent Wang Yining, a member of the army, to North Korea to find foreign aid.

Wang Yining did not borrow Korean soldiers, but he met Mao Wenlong, who was sent by Liaodong Governor Wang Huazhen to operate behind enemy lines.When Mao Wenlong heard that there was an internal agent in Zhenjiang City, he immediately decided to lead 200 of his men to attack Zhenjiang unexpectedly, which led to the great victory of Zhenjiang.

After the recovery of Zhenjiang, Wu Dabin sent Wu Guoyi back to Zhejiang and gave him a large sum of money to support his old mother.

Later, in order to repay his kindness and work for the Wu family in Shanyin, Wu Guoyi relied on his martial arts to join the command of Xie Hongyi, the commander-in-chief of Guangdong, and became Xie Hongyi's confidant.

But he could never forget the bloody battle by the Hun River, his father and brother, his adoptive father and his colleagues.So after the Macau incident was over, Wu Guoyi found an opportunity to resign from Xie Hongyi, and then went north to join the army without stopping...

The above is Wu Guoyi's life experience before he met Lin Hai. He filled himself a glass of Jinhua wine, and then said to Lin Hai: "Brother Lin, does he know what I saw when I went north to join the army this time?"

Without waiting for Lin Hai to answer, he picked up the wine bowl and drank it all in one gulp. He gritted his teeth and said, "Denglai, Dongjiang, these damn gangs are all vying to sell food to Jiannu!"

Lin Hai was not surprised at all by this. When he was in Pi Island, he had seen the local food prices. They were only twice as high as those in the mainland of the Ming Dynasty, while the prices in Jiannu were sixty or seventy times higher.Therefore, he had long thought that someone would do this business. After all, smuggling was the traditional craft of the Ming Dynasty's border troops.

This kind of thing is not uncommon at all times and at home and abroad. Dutch businessmen invested a lot of money in the enemy during the War of Independence. During the Anglo-Dutch War, they even bought war bonds issued by the British on a large scale. The money was spent by the British on warships used to attack the Netherlands. .

Of course, in the eyes of some people in later generations, this reflects the business spirit of the Dutch.

Lin Hai replied calmly: "You said that Dongjiang sold grain to the slaves, was this done by individual officers privately, or was it done by Dongjiang Town behind the imperial court's back?"

"I don't know about that." Wu Guoyi didn't say much, but he was convinced that this matter must have something to do with Dongjiang's senior management.There is no other reason, because the person who does the specific work is Shen Shikui's cronies, and although Shen Shikui has a low military position, he seems to be Mao Wenlong's right-hand man.

Wu Guoyi went north to join the army, first going to Dengzhou to find his benefactor Wu Dabin.Wu Dabin sent Wu Guoyi back to Zhejiang, and was sent to Dengzhou by the Shanyin Wu family soon after. Now he is one of the two main persons in charge of the Wu family's Liaohai trade, the other being Ren Wuye's cousin Ma Cong.This Ma Cong has been stationed in Jinzhou and Lushun for a long time. He has direct contact with Houjin and is regarded as the general person in charge of Houjin's trade.Wu Dabin was kind to Wu Guoyi and knew that he was sent by Fourth Master Wen to work as a commercial espionage under Xie Hongyi. He trusted him very much and simply arranged Wu Guoyi to work under Ma Cong.

Unexpectedly, Wu Guoyi arrived in Lushun and found that Ma Cong was doing business with Jiannu. He immediately fell out with him and returned to Dengzhou to question Wu Dabin.Unexpectedly, Wu Dabin dismissed him with just a few words. He also hinted that there was a stake in the matter behind the matter, and advised him not to meddle in his own business.

Wu Guoyi spoke softly, let alone the big boss in the court, if the Wu family in Shanyin wanted to crush him to death, it would be like crushing a bedbug to death.He had no choice but to cross the sea to Pidao and find Shen Shikui, who had fled with him, and wanted to join the army in Dongjiang.

It should be said that Mr. Shen also missed old friendships and kept Wu Guoyi by his side as a personal soldier.Not long after, he overheard the conversation between two of Shen Shikui's cronies, and found out that Shen Shikui was also doing business with Jian Nu, and was still in competition with Wu Dabin.

Wu Guoyi was completely disappointed. He did not expect that the two people who fled together were doing this kind of thing now. You must know that these two people had a deep hatred for Jiannu. They both had close relatives who died tragically at the hands of Tatars. .

"Anyway, I am completely disappointed with the border army. If Denglai and Dongjiang are like this, how can Liao Town be any better?" Wu Guoyi did not tell Lin Hai the details of Liao Hai's smuggling. After all, Wu Dabin and Shen Shikui were both good to him.

He drank another bowl of wine, and then said to Lin Hai: "So now I just want to return to my hometown to serve my mother until she is old. After a hundred years, I plan to sneak back to Liaodong. If I can kill one Tatar, it will be enough. Kill two." Even if you make one.”

After hearing Wu Guoyi's story, Lin Hai wanted to recruit him even more.Although Wu Guoyi did not have much actual combat experience, Wu Guoyi had a good family background and grew up in Qi Jin's military camp. His military literacy was beyond words. Lin Hai did not think that he, a half-time military fan, could master ancient warfare.

What's more, Wu Guoyi has a deep hatred for Hou Jin, which is even more important.Lin Hai's company is about to be established. It would be very dangerous if all the senior members of his staff were gathered together because of money. After all, his ultimate goal is not to make money.

However, he was not in a hurry to recruit him at this time. Instead, he poured another bowl of wine for Wu Guoyi and said, "Brother, why do you think the imperial court can't destroy Jian Nu? Is it that Jian Nu is really three-headed and six-armed?"

Wu Guoyi picked up the wine bowl, tilted his neck and drank it down. He had drunk a lot at this time, and said without restraint: "Of course Jiannu has one head and two hands. It's not a big deal, I tell you, but this The wretched imperial court is no match for Jiannu."

Lin Hai's eyes lit up. He picked up the wine bowl and drank it all in one gulp. He praised: "Brother, what you said is so damn happy. It's so obvious!"

Wu Guoyi glanced at Lin Haida with drunken eyes and said, "Brother Lin thinks so too?"

"The reason why I want to donate my official position in Zhoushan overseas is that I don't want to eat from the imperial court. I want to train a strong army myself, and then go north to destroy the slaves."

Lin Hai said and added: "Although I have lived overseas for a long time, I have been paying attention to the affairs of the East these years. I have seen through this corrupt court. Since the old slave started the army, there are only one and a half effective officials. It is a pity that this one and a half man court I can’t even use half of it.”

Wu Guoyi asked curiously: "Which half-man is Brother Lin talking about?"

Lin Hai stretched out a finger: "This person is Xiong Tingbi, who was just rumored to be the head of Jiubian. If Xiong Jinglue had not been dismissed, Jiannu would not even be able to occupy Shenyang, let alone Liaoyang and Guangning."

Wu Guoyi nodded frequently. Qi Jin was transferred to Liaodong at the strong request of Xiong Tingbi. After leaving office, he also strongly recommended his successor Yuan Yingtai, so he quite recognized the old Xiong.

Wu Guoyi asked again: "Who is the other half?"

Lin Hai stretched out another finger and said: "Yuan Keli, the former governor of Denglai, when Yuan Duye was in office, he controlled the towns of Denglai and Dongjiang, instigated Liu Aita's rebellion, and regained three of the four southern Liaoning guards. Just this incident alone, Jiannu's territory in Liaodong was reduced by a small half, and it was the richest half. It has been four years since Jiannu captured Guangning, and it is still difficult to advance. Yuan Duye is indispensable."

Wu Guoyi nodded and said: "Then why did Brother Lin say that Mr. Yuan Du only counts half?"

Lin Haidao: "After all, Mr. Yuan Du is just the governor of Denglai, and he cannot be considered a direct enemy of Hou Jin. It is difficult for him alone to deal with the Tatars, so I only count him half."

Wu Guoyi sighed and said: "It's a pity that the imperial court even replaced half of them. As soon as Mr. Yuan Du left, Jinzhou lost its back. If Mr. Yuan was still there, I'm afraid Marshal Mao would not be what he is now. His eyes widened when he saw money..."

Lin Hai shook his head and said: "Brother Wu, you are thinking too simply. You have never been a general and you don't know the difficulties of a general. If you were to sit in Commander Mao's position, how would you support the soldiers of Dongjiang?"

Wu Guoyi only knew how to fight in battle, but he had never thought about this issue carefully. He pondered for a moment and then said: "What does Brother Lin mean?"

"Not to mention whether Marshal Mao knew that someone under his command was selling grain to the Jiannu slaves, even if he knew, I think it is understandable. The food shortage over the Jiannu slaves has not been alleviated much. It can be seen that the grain smuggled in Denglai, Dongjiang and other places After all, it is still limited, the imperial court’s military pay is in arrears, and the soldiers of the border army also need to eat. This kind of thing cannot be forbidden. Instead of letting it go, it is better to do it yourself and have some control."

"The layout of Pi Island is too small. It cannot support many people just by relying on North Korean trade. However, Zhoushan is very different. It is very convenient to carry out trade with Japan and Nanyang. Marshal Mao stationed troops on Pi Island. It’s really difficult to build a dojo inside a shell, and I don’t expect it to end well.”

Lin Hai said and added: "So in Lin's opinion, Marshal Mao's surprise attack on Zhenjiang with [-] warriors killed hundreds of thousands of Liao people. This alone is better than the Dukes of Gonggun in the court and those in the Forbidden City." The position is much stronger. If Marshal Mao has to be as invincible as King Yue, wouldn’t that be too harsh? There have been several King Yue in the past and present!"

Wu Guoyi was silent for a while, and finally nodded and said: "What Brother Lin said is somewhat reasonable. Even Marshal Qi can't compare with King Yue."

Lin Hai continued to shake his head: "Dashuai Qi is different from King Yue. Behind Marshal Qi is the Prime Minister of Taiyue, but behind King Yue is Zhao Laojiu, who is worse than a dog."

He filled a bowl of wine for himself, and then said: "The reason why Marshal Qi is so flattering to Mr. Zhang is because although Mr. Zhang is greedy for money and lust, he is really capable of doing things. Under him, as long as he has the ability, he can also take care of Mr. Zhang at the same time. Now that Xianggong has been taken care of, he can then train his troops to kill the enemy with peace of mind. Before Xianggong Zhang was alive, the Qi family's army always received double pay and never defaulted on arrears."

"But King Yue is different. He needs to do business on his own to support the army. If he can't make a breeze, how can the Yue family's army freeze to death without demolishing the house..."

Wu Guoyi listened quietly to Lin Hai's talk, and then heard him continue: "Since ancient times, there has been no one who has a weak emperor and treacherous ministers, but a general can make meritorious deeds outside. Today, in the Ming Dynasty, there is no such loyal person as Mr. Zhang. Therefore, if we want to destroy the Jiannu, Marshal Qi’s path will not work, and we can only follow the path of King Yue..."

"But King Yue failed in the end..."

"You are right." Lin Hai stared at Wu Guoyi with piercing eyes and said, "The only reason why King Yue was defeated was because he took that bastard court too seriously!"

That night, Lin Hai and Wu Guoyi drank all night long, and both of them were extremely drunk.

It wasn't until the white fish belly appeared in the east that the two of them slept together in the pavilion in the middle of the lake. No one knew what else they said after that. Only the statue of King Yue at the foot of Qixia Ridge was watching them from a distance...

　Thanks to Lao Zhu Wu for being able to reward 1 taels again, the first leader of this book, Lao Zhu, thanks Lao Zhu
　　
　
(End of this chapter)