Brocade clothing as the country

Chapter 215
On the afternoon of the 28th of the twelfth lunar month, the soldiers of Jinyiwei Qianhu Office in Tianjin received six months' salary, which was not much, just a few taels of silver per person.

Holding this gaudy silver, some guards in brocade clothes burst into tears in the street, and the idlers watching were sobbing.

Bing Bei Dao Panda had money and food in his hands, so he was quick when he decided to give the money, but he didn't give it according to the thousand-man system that Wang Tong said.

At present, according to the inventory list of the Bingbei Dao Yamen, there are 240 people who have been inspected in Tianjin Jinyiwei's thousand households, and Panda gave him 28 months according to this number.

"Since Mr. Wang said that there are thousands of people, then according to the rules of the Ministry of War, I will go to check after the next year. If it is these people, then they will be distributed in full according to the thousand people."

*******
"Over the past few years, the soldiers of Jinyiwei in Tianjin have lost all the spirit of warriors. If the money owed is paid to them in full, many of them may not be able to return."

Wang Tong said in a newly rented mansion that during the day they went to the Bingbei Dao Yamen to make money. Tan Jian rented a mansion under the leadership of several locals, and the women, children, old and weak moved in first.

During the day, only six months were issued, and the rest of the money was managed by Wang Tong, which meant that the money was distributed on a monthly basis after the first month.

After everyone finished their dinner, they were all called to the main room by Wang Tong. The house had just been rented and there was no furniture. Everyone was standing there. But hastily said:
"My lord, after the New Year's Eve, the Bing Bei Dao will come to us to check the soldiers and horses. Now even counting our brothers, there are only more than 400 people. There are so many to find, or just talk to that Hang Daqiao. Cook, call back those who ran away in the past."

Wang Tong waved his hand and said disdainfully:

"What are those useless things called back for? They don't want this identity themselves, so why bother to give it to him after getting on the pole!"

Just as Sun Dahai was about to ask, Wang Tong continued with a smile:

"In places where there are guards, don't worry about the number of people. Since the establishment of the Sanwei in Tianjin, it has been passed down from generation to generation. Only one child in each family can serve as a soldier. There are not so many fields, and it is not every Everyone can study and do business, and I don’t know how many Yu Ding have nothing to do. Sanbiao, tomorrow will be Baoquan Market on the other side of the Drum Tower. People from inside and outside the city will come here to buy New Year’s goods. Come with me, we will recruit people !"

*******
In Panda's mansion on Bingbei Road, every servant is trembling, and they naturally know what happened at the official office during the day.

After returning, his master whipped a servant who made a small mistake to half death with a whip, which proved everyone's judgment. The master really lost face outside and was furious.

However, Master Pan's behavior is also strange. When he returned home, he first sent someone to invite the postman from outside the city to the mansion, and served them with good wine and meat, while Master Pan himself went into the study and has not come out yet.

Seeing that it was already dark and the Chinese New Year would be the day after tomorrow, everyone didn't even dare to have a smile on their faces. Before people could discuss what it was, the door of the study opened, and Panda walked quickly with a letter out.

The postmen at the post station had a hard life on weekdays, but today they ate and drank delicious food at Master Bingbeidao's house. While eating nonsense, they felt uneasy at the same time, and they didn't know why.

Seeing Master Pan approaching quickly, the two postmen hurriedly left their seats and knelt down, Panda forced a smile on his almost dark face, and said:
"This letter is addressed to Master Zhang Siwei, Minister of the Ministry of War. The documents here can allow you to leave the city gate now, hurry on the road, and send it to the capital as soon as possible."

While talking, the steward next to him handed two envelopes of silver to the two, and the two postmen took it in fear and trepidation. After weighing it, each of them had about 20 taels, and immediately laughed so hard that they couldn't even see their eyes, and said :
"Master Pan, don't worry, we brothers won't sleep at night, and we must deliver the letter to you as soon as possible."

Panda said with a sullen face:
"Delayed your holiday, go and come back quickly, I still have rewards here, go first!!"

When the two postmen left, Panda's expression sank again, and the steward beside him looked at his expression, and said cautiously:

"Master, we have gone through so many twists and turns in the capital, and we are finally released to be officials. Some things can be tolerated or endured. This Qianhu seems to have connections in the capital..."

Halfway through speaking, Panda's face sank again, and the steward immediately didn't dare to say any more, Panda said in a cold voice:
"This guy is young and doesn't know the heights of the sky and the earth. He said that the military salary cannot be discounted or wasted. This rule has been passed down for so many years. Is it because he said that he can't do it? Just wait and see!!"

After speaking, he walked out with his hands behind his back, but the housekeeper didn't dare to say anything, so he hurriedly followed. After walking a few steps, Panda turned around and told again:
"The people who went to the capital to inquire about the news should come back. You send someone to pick up at the city gate tomorrow. If you have any news, report it immediately, and then arrange a few people to go over and watch. With the establishment of a thousand people, I will see how he can get the rest. The hundreds of people under him, no matter what tricks he plays, he will write it down!"

********
This is a very convenient thing to eat, and there is no need to do tiring things, just need to feed less soldiers and horses, and then sit back and get money.

But there is also a trouble, that is, the officials of the Ministry of War check the number of soldiers to see if there is any corruption of Mexican military pay.

In order to deal with this, all generals who are short of quota have their own methods. The simplest method is to find some rogue beggars on the street to fill up the number. Counterfeiting, in addition to spending money to bribe inspection officials...

The officials who checked the number of soldiers were either sent by the Ministry of War, or local officials with relevant powers and responsibilities. Since Panda said that he wanted to check the soldiers of Jinyiwei, it was useless for Wang Tong to bribe him.

In Panda and his housekeeper's mind, if Wang Tong wants to make up the troops after the new year, I'm afraid he will have to find some rogue beggars to make up the number. go out.

Although he couldn't think of how to deal with Wang Tong, the butler felt that as long as he focused on Wang Tong, he would not take advantage of any loopholes.

However, those who followed him never expected that Wang Tong would deal with checking the source of soldiers in such a way.

*********
"...The boss of the family is a soldier, and there are only a few of you brothers left. There is only so little land, and it is not enough to support your parents. Naturally, you can't give it to you. Even if you give it to you, you will be ashamed. Otherwise, go to study and see what you are wearing. The appearance of the short robe is the same as that of my brother, it is not the material for reading!!"

Ma Sanbiao stood on a simple wooden platform and yelled loudly. This day is the last big gathering before the Spring Festival. The residents in the city and the military households in the guards outside the city, some are for the purchase of New Year’s goods, and some are for the Spring Festival. Strolling around, they all came to the market near the Drum Tower in the city.

People were coming and going in the market, and it was extremely lively. In the most conspicuous and central place, there was a very tall pole, which was tied up with dozens of bamboo poles.

There is a huge flag hanging on it, which reads "recruitment", and there is a wooden platform below, and Ma Sanbiao stands on it and preaches loudly. On both sides of the wooden platform are four large pots. The soup in the pots is milky white. The soup has been boiled for a long time, and the market is filled with aroma.

Looking closer, the bones of cattle and sheep in the pot are tumbling, and it is said that a few fish were thrown into it. There are several strong men beside each big pot, constantly adding firewood and water, and putting the big bones with a lot of meat on them. Throw it in, of course, these men scooped the soup into wooden bowls, and handed it to the passers-by with a smile on their faces.

Ma Sanbiao especially liked this kind of scene where everyone was watching, and his spirit was extremely excited. He continued to shout loudly there:
"If you can't study well, what are you going to do? Do business. It also depends on whether you are the material. There are tens of millions of people in Hejian Prefecture and Beizhili. Look at how many people have made a fortune."

What Ma Sanbiao said was the truth, and with the delicious hot soup to drink, the young people who came and went were willing to stop and listen, and it didn't take long for a large crowd to gather around.

"Go to be a long-term worker for others? Go to be a buddy for others. Brothers, you are military households. Your ancestors were soldiers for food. You earn a living with real knives and guns. You are willing to contribute to others and work for others for the rest of your life. You are like a horse, that brother, seeing that you are tall and strong, tell me, are you willing to live like this for the rest of your life?"

The eyes of these people in the audience immediately stared at the past. The man was indeed a tall man. Seeing everyone looking over, he took a step back, then gritted his teeth, and shouted in a rough voice:
"Of course I don't want to live like this for the rest of my life. I want to be a soldier, but how can I do it!!"

The atmosphere was already heated by Ma Sanbiao. With such a person taking the lead, the passionate young people who were incited followed suit, but there were also people who said at the top of their voices:

"Being a soldier is better than working, but you can't keep your salary in arrears, so it's better to work hard."

Ma Sanbiao laughed and took off the cotton robe that was covering the outside, revealing the flying fish suit inside, patted his chest and laughed loudly and said:

"Today is Tianjin Jinyiwei's recruiting. Come here to serve as a soldier, so you can feel proud. As for the food and salary, you can go back and ask, how did our Master Qianhu Wang do?"

*********
The people who watched were completely confused when they saw this scene. Could it be that Wang Tong is really stupid if he really wants to recruit troops with a full staff and refuses to eat any empty quota?
In the minds of Panda and his subordinates, and in the minds of civil servants and generals of Ming Dynasty, it is common sense for generals and lieutenants to be short-sighted, and it would be a strange thing to recruit troops at full strength, but they forgot this. It is a violation of the law to be greedy for the ink military salary in the empty quota, and it is common sense that there is no blank space for the full number of soldiers.

How strange this world is!
-
sorry sorry
(End of this chapter)