The world of film and television starts from the flow of money

Wang Ergou's Adam's apple moved, and his fingers unconsciously rubbed the edge of the silver bag. The warp and weft of the coarse linen made his palms hurt, and he remembered the blood stains on his mother's handkerchief when he left home, and his sister's cloth shoes with exposed toes.

"do not know."

He stared at the wild grass growing out of the cracks in the stone slabs in the training ground. There was still frost on the tender seedlings.

"What if it's deducted?"

Zhang Laosan picked up a piece of gravel and drew a crooked line on the ground: "The superiors said they would give us winter clothes, but in the end they only gave us half a coat..."

Wang Ergou didn't answer, but stuffed the silver bag back into his arms. His cotton armor was soaked with cold sweat. He remembered the clerk weighing the broken silver just now. The balance beam was shaking, and every silver star that fell into the scale was like hitting his chest. There was a sound of horses neighing in the distance, and the horses' hooves of the cavalry battalion raised gravel, and a few grains splashed at his feet.

"We'll know whether it's true or not next month."

Zhao Tiezhu came over carrying a spear and sneered, "Besides, the emperor has already reimbursed you for three years of military pay, would he lie to you?"

Zhang Laosan knocked the ground with gravel, and the dust fell on the back of his cracked hand. He looked at the soldiers lined up in the distance, some of whom were stuffing the newly received silver ingots into the interlayer of their leggings, and some of whom were biting the silver coins with their teeth to test their authenticity.

"Too."

He threw away the gravel, and the patch of burlap swept across Wang Ergou's silver bag: "If it can really be delivered... my wife can get some medicine."

Wang Ergou stood up, shaking his silver bag at his waist. He suddenly remembered the "Huimin Silver Bank" mentioned by Sun Degong, the silver ingots engraved with "Ministry of Revenue Official Silver", and the letters with the wax seal of the Ministry of War. Perhaps, this time is really different?
"go!"

Tiezhu patted him on the back and said, "Go to the barracks and hide the money first. I heard that we will be taught to recognize the Huimin Silver Bank voucher this afternoon. The characters on it are so twisted and winding that they are harder to recognize than the Tartar's arrows."

As the three of them walked toward the barracks, the notice board in the center of the parade ground was illuminated by the sun. The bright red seal on the military document was dazzling. Wang Ergou touched the silver bag in his arms again, and the coarse linen felt warm. He thought about it again in his mind: In addition to food and roof repair, maybe he could buy a red hairband for his sister to wear on the end of her braid during the New Year.

In the distance, the morning mist gradually dissipated, and the sunlight pierced through the clouds, shining on the parade ground, reflecting a golden light.

...............

At noon, the sound of iron barrels colliding came from the direction of the kitchen. Three sturdy cooks carried iron barrels across the training ground, and the bottoms of the barrels made a harsh scraping sound on the gravel road. Steaming hot air came out from the gaps in the barrel lids, wrapped in the sweet fragrance of cornmeal and the fishy smell of horse meat, condensing into white mist in the cold air.

"dinner time!"

Sun Degong shouted, and the soldiers gathered from everywhere, holding their wooden bowls and bamboo chopsticks in their hands. The crowd lined up in three rows in front of the iron barrel, and the soles of their boots rolled over the gravel on the ground, making a fine "crunching" sound.

Wang Ergou was standing in the middle of the queue, craning his neck to look forward. The moment the lid of the iron bucket was opened, hot air rushed up, making him squint his eyes.

The first bucket was filled with yellow cornmeal steamed bread, each as big as a fist with cross cracks on the surface; the second bucket was filled with dark brown pickled cabbage lumps soaked in turbid brine; the third bucket was filled with horse meat stewed with potatoes with oil floating on it; the meat pieces sank to the bottom of the bucket and had to be reached with a long-handled spoon.

"Two steamed breads, a spoonful of pickled vegetables, and five pieces of meat for each person!"

The cook roared and knocked the iron spoon twice on the edge of the bucket.

When it was Wang Ergou's turn, the cook scooped up a spoonful of broth and fished at the bottom of the bucket, shaking out three pieces of horse meat with tendons and two lean pieces. Wang Ergou hurriedly took the bowl to catch it, and the hot broth splashed on the back of his hand. He took a deep breath but was reluctant to let go.

Zhao Tiezhu had already squatted at the foot of the wall and started eating. He broke open the steamed bread, revealing the light brown section inside - it was mixed with bean flour, and was firmer than pure sorghum bread. He had to use some force when biting it down, and the bean smell came out as he chewed.

"Ergou, here!"

Zhao Tiezhu tapped the empty space beside him with the tip of his chopsticks.

Wang Ergou trotted over and squatted, taking a sip of the soup. Oily spots stuck to his lips, and he licked them with his tongue. The horse meat was stewed until tender, but the tendons were still tough, so he had to use his back teeth to grind it slowly.

"You're lucky, kid."

Zhao Tiezhu suddenly tapped the edge of Wang Ergou's bowl with his chopsticks: "I just arrived at a great time."

"what?"

Wang Ergou didn't hear clearly what he said. He looked up at Zhao Tiezhu with puffed cheeks, looking confused.

"Boy, I say, you are blessed!"

Zhao Tiezhu swallowed the food in his mouth and counted on his fingers: "Three months ago, our breakfast was thin porridge mixed with bran. Chopsticks couldn't even stand up when inserted into it. Lunch was a bowl of sorghum rice with salted willow buds - the stuff was so bitter that it made my tongue numb."

He poked the horse meat in the bowl and said, "Meat? You're dreaming! The last time we ate it was during the Dragon Boat Festival. We each got two thin slices of bacon, which we soaked in the porridge until it was soft enough to be pulled into threads."

Zhang Laosan, who was squatting next door, interrupted, "The bedding is terrible! The straw mattress has been used for three years and is full of lice. Sleeping at night is like sleeping on a pancake. Every time you turn over, you can hear a 'crackling' sound - that's the sound of the lice being crushed to death."

Wang Ergou looked down at the winter boots on his feet. The boots were stuffed with new wool socks, so his toes could stretch out. He remembered the cotton armor he received when he first entered the camp. The lining was densely nailed with 220 iron plates. It was a bit heavy, but arrows could never penetrate it.

"Now we have dry food for every meal, and we can eat meat every ten days."

Zhao Tiezhu broke the last piece of steamed bread and ate it with the broth: "I heard that the musketeers in the Shenji Battalion can get half a pound of brown sugar every month."

Wang Ergou's eyes widened: "Brown sugar?!"

Just when he was about to ask Zhao Tiezhu if he had ever eaten brown sugar and what it tasted like, footsteps were suddenly heard at the camp gate.

Zhang Wenhuan, the military censor, came in with two clerks, his deerskin boots creaking on the gravel. He held a list in his hand, glanced at the soldiers eating, and suddenly stopped in the direction of Room A3.

"check."

Captain Sun Degong immediately put down his bowl and trotted over to meet him. The soldiers also stood up, clinking their bowls and chopsticks.

Zhang Wenhuan walked straight to Zhao Tiezhu's bunk, which was on the upper floor by the window. The bed was covered with a coarse cloth mattress, which was rough but smooth. Censor Zhang reached out to check the thickness and then lifted the quilt to check. The quilt cover was indigo-colored coarse cloth, and the lining was filled with new cotton. If you pinched it, it would slowly rebound.

"Have you distributed your winter clothes?"

"Your Excellency, it will be sent out in early September."

Zhao Tiezhu ran over with a smile on his face, pointing at the wooden box in the corner: "Two pairs of woolen socks, a dog-skin hat, and..." He opened the lid of the box, revealing a pair of winter boots wrapped in tung oil cloth.

Zhang Wenhuan picked up a boot and scraped his thumbnail back and forth on the sole. The hemp thread on the sole was densely stitched, with at least twenty stitches per square inch. He bent the boot shaft again to check whether the lambskin lining was evenly spaced.

Suddenly, the censor turned to look at Wang Ergou and said, "You, tell me about the food."

Wang Ergou almost choked on the steamed bread in his mouth, so he quickly swallowed it and straightened his back:

"Your Excellency, breakfast is millet porridge with dried radish, lunch and dinner are mixed grain rice, and there is meat on the second and fifth days."

Blinking his eyes, he counted on his fingers and recalled: "Last month, I ate six meals of mutton, three meals of pork, and today's meal of horse meat..."

The clerk recorded in a booklet nearby: In November of the second year of Zhaowu, the Jiaying Camp in Jizhen actually distributed nine meals of meat, four more than the old system.

Zhang Wenhuan nodded, and suddenly pulled out a black object from his sleeve: "Do you recognize this?"

Wang Ergou took a closer look and saw that it was a multi-grain cake as hard as a rock with mold spots on the surface.

"This is last winter's army rations."

The censor's voice turned cold: "It's mixed with dirt. If you eat too much, you won't be able to poop."

He threw the pancake back into his sleeve and pointed at the steamed bread in the soldiers' hands: "Now you know why we are investigating you, right?" Zhao Tiezhu's Adam's apple moved, and he suddenly stood at attention: "Thank you for your sympathy! Thank you for the grace of the emperor!"

The soldiers finally reacted and put down their bowls and chopsticks to salute. Wang Ergou saw the musketeer squatting in the corner secretly wiping his eyes with his sleeves.

Zhang Wenhuan waved his hand and walked to the next barracks with his clerk. Captain Sun Degong followed behind, his back straight.

After they walked away, Zhao Tiezhu sat back on the ground and took a gulp of the cold broth.

"did you see it?"

He nudged Wang Ergou with his elbow and said, "In the past, when the censors came to inspect the camp, they would check whether there was any hidden food under the beds. Now, they check whether we are eating well enough."

Wang Ergou lowered his head and ate the last few mouthfuls of rice, licking the remaining oil at the bottom of the bowl. He suddenly thought of his cousin who starved to death in his hometown - if there had been such military pay three years earlier, his cousin would not have had to sell himself into slavery for a few pounds of rice.

The clappers sounded for lunch break. Soldiers walked to the barracks in groups of three or four, and some had already started planning to go to the town bank to withdraw money on their day off. Wang Ergou touched the salary for the month in his arms, and thought about the three years of arrears that would soon be paid, and his steps unconsciously became lighter.

...............

At three quarters past the hour, a rapid drumbeat sounded on the parade ground. Wang Ergou jumped up from his bed with a start, and hurriedly fastened the belt of his cotton armor. Zhao Tiezhu was already dressed and was pouring the remaining herbal tea from last night into the kettle.

"Hurry up!"

Zhao Tiezhu threw the kettle over his shoulder and said, "Today, General Ma will be here to review the troops in person."

A group of people quickly dressed and rushed to the camp playground.

A three-meter-high platform was erected on the east side of the training ground. On the platform was an ebony desk and a scarlet felt carpet. Ten personal soldiers stood on both sides holding goose-feather knives, the tips of which reflected a cold light. General Ma sat in the middle, wearing a dragon robe over his iron armor, tapping his fingers lightly on the desk, the rhythm matching the drum beats.

"Line up—"

The roar of Sun Degong, the centurion, rang out. The soldiers quickly assembled according to their barrack numbers, their footsteps muffled on the compacted ground. Wang Ergou stood in the middle of the third row and could smell the sour smell of sweat from the cotton armor of the soldiers in the front row.

"Today's review includes three items: bows and crossbows, firearms, and close combat." General Ma's voice was not loud, but every word hit my eardrums like a nail: "The top three in each battalion will be rewarded with five taels of silver. The record-breaker will be rewarded with an additional ten taels of silver."

A low gasp was heard in the team. Wang Ergou felt the back of his neck getting hot - five taels of silver was enough to buy two dan of fine rice, and ten taels could buy a decent set of winter clothes.

Twenty hard bows were placed in front of the quiver, with the bows wrapped with anti-slip tendons. Wang Ergou received a three-force bow, which was one force lighter than the ones he usually used - it seemed to test accuracy rather than brute force.

"Wear armor!"

The straw target was covered with iron armor, and a circle the size of a copper coin was drawn on the heart with white ash. Wang Ergou licked his index finger and tested the wind direction. It was northwest wind, slightly off.

"shoot!"

He shot the first arrow too hastily, and the arrowhead rubbed against the armor and slid away, leaving a white mark on the straw target. The second arrow was half an inch lower, hitting the edge of the white circle. He held his breath when the third arrow left the string, and before the buzzing sound of the arrow shaft breaking through the air had dissipated, a crisp "ding" sound came from the center of the bull's eye - the arrowhead was accurately nailed into the center of the white circle.

"Wang Ergou of the Third Battalion, three arrows hit two targets, excellent!"

The clerk drew a red circle on the list. When Wang Ergou left, he saw General Ma nodded slightly, and the guards beside him immediately put five silver ingots on the tray, which were dazzling in the sun.

Suddenly, there was a commotion on the right side of the parade ground. Wang Ergou looked in the direction of the sound and saw that it was the coach of the Shenji Battalion pushing three falconets. The barrels still had the smell of gunpowder. Looking at the Firearms Battalion, which was obviously better equipped, Wang Ergou's eyes showed a trace of envy.

The musketeers lined up to receive the standard load of gunpowder, three lead bullets each.

"New rules!"

The coach kicked the shield cart and said, "If you can penetrate two layers of elm wood, you will be rewarded one cent. If you can penetrate three layers, you will be rewarded three cents. If you can penetrate iron sheet, you will be rewarded one tael!"

Zhang Laosan was drawn to the seventh group. His hands were a little shaky when he poured gunpowder into the barrel, so the first shot only penetrated a single layer of wood. With the second shot, he learned his lesson and used a cleaning rod to compact the gunpowder. When the lead bullet came out of the barrel, it shook the shield car - there was a hole in the two layers of wood that allowed light to pass through.

"it is good!"

The coach threw a piece of silver at me: "Go on!"

The third lead bullet whizzed through three layers of elm wood and nailed into the earthen wall behind. General Ma suddenly stood up, and the hem of his dragon robe swept the command arrow off the table.

"reward!"

The personal soldier trotted over with a tray. In addition to the agreed one or two taels of silver, there was also a gunpowder bag made of cowhide - this was equipment only available to the elite troops of the Shenji Camp.

"Clear the area! The firearms battalion retreat!"

Following a shout from the personal guards, a ten-foot square area of ​​sand was cleared in the middle of the training ground and a layer of fine ash was sprinkled on it to prevent slipping.

Zhao Tiezhu took off his cotton armor and went into battle wearing only a short brown shirt. The scars on his forearms coiled like centipedes. His opponent was a swordsman with a face full of flesh. The edge of his shield was covered with iron sheets. He looked like an old soldier.

"The rules are simple."

Sun Degong spat on the ground: "If you step out of the circle, you lose. Stop when you see blood. The winner will be rewarded with 200 coins, and the loser will be punished to clean the toilet for three days."

"clang!"

As soon as the gong sounded, the sword and shield fighter rushed over, pushing Zhao Tiezhu's chest with his shield and pushing him out of the circle. Zhao Tiezhu retreated half a step, suddenly moved sideways to avoid the shield attack, and grabbed the opponent's wrist with his right hand and locked his ankle with his left leg - this was the "horse tripping style" commonly used by the border troops.

"boom!"

The sword and shield fighter fell face down into the sand, stirring up a cloud of dust. Zhao Tiezhu took advantage of the situation and rode on his waist, his fist hovering three inches from the tip of his nose.

"The Third Battalion wins!"

"it is good!!"

The soldiers watching the battle stamped their feet and cheered, shaking the flags on the stage. General Ma waved his hand to call his personal soldiers and whispered a few words. After a while, the clerk came running with a wooden box, which turned out to be a short sword with a sheath. The blade made of fine steel was engraved with four small characters: "Zhaowu Imperial Gift".

As the sun was setting, all three competitions were over. General Ma stood up and drew his sword, and the blades of his armor collided with each other, making a crisp sound.

"Today's best archer is Wang Ergou; the best firearm is Zhang Laosan; the best fighting is Zhao Tiezhu."

He paused and said, "Each of the three will be awarded five taels of silver. Zhao Tiezhu will also give him a short sword from the Armory Department."

The reward was weighed in person, and the copper plate of the scale glowed red in the sunset. Wang Ergou received five silver ingots in the shape of a boat, with the stamp "Taicang Full Color" on the bottom. He couldn't help but bite the edge with his teeth, leaving only a shallow mark on the silver.

"It's all taken care of!"

General Ma suddenly raised his voice and said, "From now on, we will review the medals on the fifth day of every month and the rewards will remain the same."

He pointed his scabbard in the direction of the camp gate: "There's a new merit list over there. The whole family of those on the list will be exempted from taxes for three years!"

The soldiers' breathing suddenly became heavy. Wang Ergou saw Zhang Laosan tightly grasping the new gunpowder bag, his knuckles turning white; Zhao Tiezhu was rubbing the inscription on the short knife with his thumb, his eyes a little red.

When the horn of disbandment sounded, the sunset had already dyed half the sky red. Wang Ergou followed the team to the barracks, and the silver ingots in his arms gently clattered with his steps. He suddenly remembered the old jacket that his mother patched under the oil lamp the night before he left home - when the three years of salary arrears were paid, it was time to bring home a piece of Songjiang fine cloth.

(End of this chapter)