Jinyi Town Mountains and Rivers

Chapter 332 The Three Brothers of Dongchang

He Liu accompanied Qi Jiguang to inspect the defense of the Great Wall.Qi Jiguang cordially invited He Liu to his back tent for dinner.

In Qi Jiguang's back tent, He Liu met Mrs. Qi.

Madam Qi was wearing a coarse cotton gown, and she was rolling dough in the back tent.He Liu looked from afar and thought: Those who don't know think she is an ordinary peasant woman.Who would have thought that the peasant woman in front of her was Daming's first-rank Mrs. Wei Lie, and that the late Emperor had given her the Embroidery Spring Knife?

When Madam Qi saw a guest, she wiped her face with a rag, came to He Liu, saluted a million blessings, and said, "I've seen He Liuye."

He Liu hurriedly said, "I can't bear Madam Qi's gift!"

Qi Jiguang asked from the side: "What shall we have for dinner?"

Mrs. Qi replied: "Eat noodles. The sixth master is here, I'll add some dishes."

Qi Jiguang nodded and said: "There is also a jar of Xinghua Village in the warehouse, which was given to me by Yang Bo's old department when he patrolled the border last year. You go and get it, and I will have a drink with He Liuye in the evening."

After Mrs. Qi left, He Liu asked Qi Jiguang, "Why are you so courageous all of a sudden? Do you dare to order Mrs. Qi like a girl?"

Qi Jiguang smiled: "She is a good woman, except for her temper in the inner room, she has always given me face in front of others."

After Madam Qi prepared dinner on the table, she said, "Master Liu, you and Yuan Jing have a good drink. I'll take my leave first."

He Liu hurriedly asked to stay: "Madam Qi, let's use it together."

Madam Qi shook her head: "Women are not allowed to be on stage." After speaking, she returned to her room with a bowl of noodles.

He Liu asked Qi Jiguang: "Where are Qi Zuuo, Qi Anguo, Qi Changguo, Qi Baoguo, and Qi Xingguo, the five princes, placed by Qi Shuai now?"

Qi Jiguang said: "They are all in Dengzhou, Shandong Province. Meng Zuyin's ability to get a military position is not considered a skill! I plan to let them follow the path of martial arts to join the army."

He Liu said with emotion: "Seventeen years ago, as the hereditary commander of the Dengzhou Guard, you went to Beijing to take the martial arts exam together with a group of white-clothed candidates. It coincided with the Geng garrison change, and I Dahan came to the capital. You took the initiative to ask for a bloody battle with Tatar at the head of the city. At that time, you were not his opponent. Who would have thought that 17 years later, Qi Jiguang, the young general at the head of the Deshengmen city, is now the leader of Zhangji, Liao, and Xuan The handsome man of the 17 troops in the three towns, Altan Khan's strongest opponent."

Qi Jiguang smiled wryly: "Sixth Lord really thinks that Ji, Liao, and Xuan have 20 troops?"

He Liu was stunned when he heard this: "In the Ministry of War's "Tianxia Bingma Booklet", it is written that Ji, Liao, and Xuan have 20 frontier troops!"

Qi Jiguang said: "Master Liu, to tell you the truth, 20 troops is just a number on the roster. In my hand, I only have 11 soldiers and horses. Among them, there are [-] soldiers from Jizhen, [-] from Liaodong, and [-] from Xuanfu."

He Liu was horrified: "Could Marshal Qi be eating empty money?"

Qi Jiguang nodded: "That's right. Mr. Qi is indeed eating empty pay. It's just that all the empty pay did not fall into my own pocket. The sixth master didn't know that the frontier soldiers of the Ministry of War provided silver, 100 It has not changed over the years. 100 years ago, three renminbi of silver was enough to make a saber. What about now? It takes more than 30 taels of silver per year to eat, drink, and scatter. The Ministry of War only allocates 13 taels of silver per person per year. I also need to build chariots and equip my brothers with new-style firearms. Inside and out, I need silver !"

Qi Jiguang complained for a while, and then said: "Fortunately, it is not unusual for generals on the nine sides to be paid without pay. When I took over, the roster of the Ministry of War stated that there were 20 soldiers and horses from the three towns. I just made mistakes and made mistakes every year. The imperial court received 20 military pay, and with the military pay of two soldiers, one soldier was raised. After fighting for so many years, I have an experience. In the final analysis, what is fought is money."

He Liu said with emotion: "I thought General Qi was a hero on the battlefield. Who would have thought that a great hero on the battlefield would have to deal with so many messy things in private."

Qi Jiguang said: "There is no way. Who made me the commander-in-chief of Zhangji, Liao, and Xuan towns? Every day when I open my eyes, 11 brothers eat, drink, and sleep. I have to figure out a way. Let the brothers have sufficient supplies, and at the same time guard against the Tatars. Fortunately, my boss, the governor of Jiliao, Lord Wang Chonggu, is a reasonable person and never troubles me about the vacancy."

The two chatted indifferently.Li Heijiu suddenly pushed the door open and came in.

Li Heijiu bowed his hands to He Liuyi: "Master Liu, there is indeed something wrong with those three people. I took a few brothers and followed them into Jizhou City, but they turned their heads and told me that they wanted to see He Liu of Jinyiwei." Lord!"

He Liuqi said: "What? Could it be that these three Tatar spies want to follow Han Naji and surrender to the court?"

Li Heijiu shook his head: "Master Liu, they really don't seem to be Tatar spies! They are the slaves stationed in Jizhou by Dongchang for more than 20 years!"

He Liu got up and said to Qi Jiguang: "Qi Shuai, I will not be able to enjoy this meal. I will go meet those three people."

He Liu followed Li Heijiu to a small courtyard in Jizhou City.In the middle of the small courtyard stood five warriors in brocade clothes, and the three "vagrants" who were wandering around the base of the Great Wall in the morning.

Seeing He Liu, the older homeless people kowtowed and said, "My subordinate, Lin Dazhu, the seventh-rank officer of the Dongji Incident Factory, met the sixth master of Jinyiwei! These two are my younger brothers Lin Erzhu and Lin Sanzhu. They are both the ninth-rank official of the East Factory." servant."

He Liudao: "You are from Dongchang. I heard from Li Heijiu that you want to join me?"

Lin Dazhu clasped his hands and said, "Yes, Master Liu. The three of us are people who have been forgotten by Dongchang! Since Jiajing 25 years ago, Lu Fang, the governor of Dongchang at that time, sent us to Jizhou, and we have not returned for 21 years. Pass the capital!"

He Liu was surprised: "Jinyiwei and Dongchang both have the two responsibilities of monitoring the officials internally and spying on the enemy's military situation externally. As far as I know, the Dongchang soldiers who are stationed in border towns to spy on the military situation of the barbarians in the grasslands should be in After waiting for three years, the border town will be promoted to a higher level and transferred back to the capital."

Lin Dazhu smiled wryly: "At the beginning, the three of us, because of some trivial matters, offended Duke Lu Fang. He asked us to come to Jizhou to inquire about the Tatar army under the pretext, but in fact sent us to a dangerous border area! For 21 years, Dongchang We have not been paid a tael of silver. I am not afraid of your jokes, we can only sell tofu for a living in Jizhou! Later Lu Fang collapsed, and we heard that Chen Hong, Huang Jin, and Liu Da were three governors who took charge of Dong factory, but they have never sent anyone to look for us. Thinking about it, Lu Fang has already removed the three of us from the Dongchang roster!"

(End of this chapter)