The wind rises at the end of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 514 Military Notes
"The crescent moon shines on my house, its light spilling over the eaves and filling the field."

"The haystacks are taller than the courtyard wall, gleaming golden...like hills."

The moonlight, like quicksilver spilling onto the ground, illuminated the farmhouse courtyard.

In the small courtyard, Wu Ping was working hard in the threshing ground. The newly threshed wheat straw was piled up into a small mountain on the threshing ground, gleaming with a cool luster under the moonlight.

With each swing of the wooden shovel, the wheat grains rustled.

"Honey, take a break."

Wu Ping turned his head and looked in the direction of the sound. Chunniang was slowly walking over, carrying the sleeping baby girl.

The night breeze gently caressed her hair, and the child in her arms slept soundly, his little face rosy.

Chunniang freed one hand, took out a plain handkerchief from her bosom, and gently wiped away the beads of sweat from Wu Ping's forehead.

Wu Ping put down his wooden shovel and smiled sheepishly at his wife and daughter.

Chunniang's eyes looked especially gentle in the moonlight.
A gentle night breeze blew by, carrying the fresh scent of new grain. In the distance, the sounds of farm tools being tidied up came from the neighbor's yard.

A few barks came from afar, which made the autumn night even more tranquil.

Wu Ping took the handkerchief and smelled its faint fragrance, just like every ordinary night over the years...

But on nights like this...

It will never happen again.

Wu Ping's hand touched the inner pouch of his sleeve.

Inside the cuff, a pale white handkerchief lay quietly.

That was the last thing Chunniang left behind.

The twin lotus flowers embroidered on the cloth corner have turned yellow.

Just like their brief but warm marriage, it was forever frozen in this moonlit autumn night.

Memories receded like the tide, leaving behind a mess.

Wu Ping didn't want to recall those painful days, but the past always surfaced unexpectedly.

I don't know when it started, but the world has changed color.

The sun grows increasingly scorching each day, and the cracks in the fields resemble the patterns on a tortoise shell, some deep, some shallow, crisscrossing each other.

Locusts flew in, dark and swarming, leaving nothing but barren land in their wake; even the bark of trees was devoured.

On the way to escape the famine, people fell one after another.

The father fell under an old, withered locust tree, and the mother disappeared into the weeds at the ferry crossing.

Finally, there's Chunniang...

She left her last bite of food for him, while she herself lay forever asleep in the wilderness.

Wu Ping lowered his head, clenched his teeth, and forced back the tears from his eyes.

He could never forget how thin and frail his Chunniang was when she lay in his arms.

She was so light and airy, as if a gust of wind could blow her away.

Finally, Wu Ping also collapsed, lying on the cracked earth, gazing at the gray sky.

His life was filled with confusion and misery, beset by natural disasters and man-made calamities one after another. His only happiness lasted only a few short years.

And yet, he happened to encounter all the hardships in this world.

He hated it...

He has always been diligent and conscientious, and has never done anything immoral or unethical.

Why is God so cruel to him?

His chapped lips were bleeding, but he felt no pain.

The gray sky was like an overturned iron pot, trying to squeeze out his last breath.

"Wu Ping."

"Wu Ping."

Wu Ping opened his eyes again.

What came into view was no longer that gray sky.

Instead, they were faces full of concern.

"I am fine."

Wu Ping managed a slight smile.

"I'm not good with words; they're all in my wine."

Zhou Changshou filled his wine glass to the brim and then drank it all in one gulp.

Wu Ping was always a man of few words, and they knew very little about him.

All I knew was that Wu Ping was a refugee whose wife, children, and elderly parents had all died on the way to escape famine, and he later joined the Western Army.

Huang Hu sat to the side. He was never good at comforting people. Seeing Wu Ping's low spirits and restlessness, he didn't know what to say to comfort him. Like Zhou Changshou, he raised his wine glass and drank it all in one gulp.

Han Fuliang rolled his eyes, took out a blue cloth bag from his bag, and carefully unfolded it.

Inside is an exquisitely crafted rattle drum.

The drum is painted a festive red, and colorful silk threads adorn the small mallets on both sides.

Han Fuliang said with a smile.

"After we head south, we'll all be returning to Kaifeng. You'll be going home alone. This is something I bought for Anan. Take it with you, or I might forget to give it to you when I'm busy."

Wu Ping's eyes flickered slightly, and his originally dim eyes regained some of their luster.

On the eve of the Battle of Yangzhou, Chen Wang promised generous compensation to those who died in the battle.

If there are no descendants, officers will select a male from among the refugees to inherit their surname and continue their family line.

When the propaganda officer came to the camp to collect statistics...

Wu Ping also signed up.

On the battlefield, where swords and spears have no eyes, no one knows whether they will be able to survive.

But the difference is.

Wu Ping did not adopt any male offspring.

They asked the speaker if they could adopt a girl.

Although the speaker had some doubts, he agreed and carefully recorded the speaker's request.

Wu Ping survived the Battle of Yangzhou.

However, the preacher also found a suitable orphan for Wu Ping, who was registered under Wu Ping's household and named Wu Ying.

Wu Ping also gave the girl a nickname, A-Nan.

The girl was only eight years old. She didn't know her own name or her hometown, though she was from Henan.

They had always been in the orphanages set up by the Jingnan Army.

The orphanage camps were institutions that Chen Wang set up in many places, attached to the local wards.

Its main purpose is to take in and raise orphans who have been displaced by war, natural disasters, or man-made calamities.

These orphans were placed in camps and given tasks they could manage, but most of their expenses required government subsidies.

The reason why Jingnan Army is in financial trouble now is

This is because a large portion of the expenditure is used to make up for the damage caused by years of war and natural disasters.

Han Fuliang gave him a wink.

Zhou Changshou and Huang Hu immediately rummaged through their packages and found some too. "Mine is here too."

"I bought one too."

The two then picked up the items they had purchased and placed them on the table.

Wu Ping's gaze lingered on the table.

Huang Hu bought an adorable straw tiger.

Instead, Zhou Changshou prepared an exquisite bracelet.

The bracelet is exquisitely crafted, with continuous auspicious cloud patterns engraved on the body. The joint is carved into a ruyi head and adorned with two small silver bells that make a crisp sound when touched.

Zhou Changshou and Han Fuliang looked at the straw tiger that Huang Hu had bought on the table, suppressing their laughter.

"You old Huang, you're just going to buy a straw tiger to appease me, huh?"

Huang Hu's face flushed slightly. Although the straw tiger he bought was pretty, it was far inferior to what Zhou Changshou and Han Fuliang had bought.

Huang Hu was a little embarrassed, but he still didn't admit defeat and stubbornly refused to back down.

"We knew this thing wasn't worth much when we bought it."

"So we've already thought it through. We've sealed five taels of military notes, so Anan can buy whatever she wants."

As he spoke, Huang Hu took out a red envelope carefully made of red paper from his pocket, flicked his wrist, and slammed it onto the table with a thud.

"Yo!"

Han Fuliang's eyes lit up suddenly, and he exclaimed in surprise. His hands moved faster than his eyes, and he snatched the red envelope into his own hand.

"Tiger Lord".

"You're treating military scrip like a bribe!"

Zhou Changshou was also somewhat surprised.

"As expected of Tiger Lord, he's really generous."

Military scrip was an extremely rare item, issued only in small quantities to officers of the rank of battalion commander and above in the Jingnan Army.

After the Battle of Yangzhou, the Jingnan Army defeated the Wanmin Army and issued a special paper currency called military notes, which was distributed in small quantities.

These military notes can be directly exchanged for gold and silver at the military note exchange specially set up by the Jingnan Army.

These military scrips can also be used to purchase other supplies at the military scrip exchange.

In the exchange, everyday necessities such as ordinary cloth and salt, which are available in the regular market but whose prices fluctuate, can be obtained at a stable price of about 10% lower than the market price with military stamps.

Most importantly, military scrip could be exchanged for grain, and at a price 20% lower than the market price.

The Ming Dynasty's early paper money, known as the "Da Ming Bao Chao," could be printed in unlimited quantities.

To cover expenses, the imperial court printed paper money without restraint, printing as much as it wanted, which greatly damaged the paper money system. The amount of paper money flooded the market, and its value plummeted.

Moreover, after the currency was damaged, the government refused to acknowledge the loss or exchange the old currency for new currency, causing widespread resentment among officials, civilians, and merchants.

In the later period, the paper money system deteriorated completely; the Ming Dynasty's paper money was practically indistinguishable from toilet paper.

For this reason, when military scrip was issued, most officers did not dare to keep it in their hands. After receiving it, they either exchanged it directly for gold and silver or immediately went to the military exchange to purchase other items.

However, as time went on, and since it could be exchanged at any time, some officers kept it in their possession.

Moreover, as the number of resources available for exchange using military stamps increased, more and more people began to hold military stamps.

These military stamps can be used to exchange for supplies that are hard to find on the market.

This left the officers who had previously exchanged their military tokens directly for silver or hastily redeemed them filled with regret.

Due to years of war, many places in the southern regions have been damaged, and many places are under military control, with a lot of supplies under strict control.

Many controlled supplies are difficult to buy with money on the market.

Military scrip can be used to exchange for many valuable supplies at a fair price.

For example, fine wines from various regions, all kinds of exquisite candies, precious medicinal herbs, and the finest silks and porcelains; even spices that were previously only heard of were now included in the exchange of military scrip.

The Jingnan Army established stock exchanges in most of the important towns within its long-term controlled territories of Southern Zhili, Henan, Huguang, and Hanzhong Prefecture.

Moreover, in recent days, a new product called cigarettes has been put on the shelves in the Jingnan Army's military currency exchange, which can only be purchased with military currency.

Tobacco was already popular by the end of the Ming Dynasty. Although it was introduced relatively late, it spread very quickly.

Tobacco is inherently addictive, and many medical professionals also claim that tobacco has benefits, which is equivalent to attaching the idea that smoking is good for health to the surface of a product.

This has resulted in a large number of smokers in many places.

At that time, most people used tobacco pouches and pipes to smoke.

Smoking has always been prohibited in the Jingnan Army's barracks; to be precise, smoking pipes and tobacco pouches are prohibited, which has caused some discomfort among the soldiers.

As a result, the cigarettes became a sensation throughout the entire Jingnan Army.

Although only a small smoking area was designated within the military camp, smoking was still prohibited in the barracks and other areas.

However, being able to smoke in the military is already quite an achievement.

Moreover, the cigarettes they issued were packaged in white paper, and their taste was completely different from that of pipes.

At first, many soldiers were not used to it, but after getting to know it, they found the taste unique and got used to it.

The cigarettes issued in the military currency exchange come in several grades. The highest grade cigarettes have exquisite packaging and look very expensive. Even the cigarette paper has a faint fragrance.

Military scrip was originally issued to officers on a small scale, but later it was used to redeem scarce goods, including cigarettes.

Soldiers at the grassroots level in the army also began to express their desire to the propaganda officers that they wanted some military notes to be distributed as wages.

However, the first season's pay was only distributed to officers.

Until this time, after they arrived in the capital and rested, the army distributed the military pay for April of the second quarter, allowing them to exchange their pay for that month into military notes, but the maximum they could exchange was only two taels of silver worth of military notes.

This was the first time ordinary soldiers had ever received military scrip.

Although the military stock exchange has opened many new counters these days, it is still overcrowded.

Zhou Changshou and Han Fuliang were both banner leaders, but they had never had military scrip before. This time, they each exchanged two taels of military scrip, but they were reluctant to use it.

Huang Hu was generous; he had previously used military scrip to exchange for a considerable amount of cigarettes and goods for them.

Huang Hu reached out and snatched the red envelope back from Han Fuliang's reluctant hand. He then stood up and pushed the red envelope directly in front of Wu Ping.

"Here you go, Lao Wu."

Huang Hu's voice was rough, but it carried an undeniable honesty.

"Is your daughter still living in the military and civilian family resettlement area of ​​our Jingnan Army?"

“I specifically asked Shangguan, and they said that our exchange has also been set up in the resettlement area.”

Seeing that Wu Ping was staring blankly at the red envelope, Huang Hu pushed it forward again and continued to explain.

“A-Nan is still young, so naturally she doesn’t know how to use these military notes.”

"You don't need to worry, you can hand these military notes directly to the inspector in the resettlement area."

Huang Hu tapped the red envelope and said.

"They are not only responsible for guarding the surrounding area and ensuring safety, but also for taking care of the families of our soldiers."

"How much military scrip you have saved and how much silver you have accumulated are all recorded by someone over there, clearly and without error."

"We have intelligence officers in various places to help keep an eye on things, so there's no chance of anything being embezzled."

As Huang Hu finished speaking, a look of admiration appeared on his face.

"The Marquis is so good to us; he has already thought of these small things for us."

Huang Hu sat down again, seemingly remembering something, smiled, and seemed somewhat sentimental.

"If it weren't for the Marquis... I really don't know what this world would be like..."

(End of this chapter)