I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 291 The world has really changed!

Several people got into the sedan chair, and the bearers who had been waiting for a long time picked up the sedan poles, lifted the sedan chair with force, walked steadily, and headed straight for Chaoyang Gate.

Not long after I walked away, I heard the rumbling sound of gongs and drums, which came towards me, one after another, deafeningly loud.

Wang Daokun even felt that the curtains of the sedan chair were shaking.

Then there was a bustling crowd, like a blazing bonfire, with cheers coming from time to time. The sedan chair slowed down and soon stopped.

Wang Daokun lifted the curtain of the sedan chair and asked, "What happened in front?"

After putting down the sedan chair, the head bearer who was standing beside to rest immediately bowed and said, "Sir, the young men from the Beijing Army who are enlisting are being seen off in front."

"Seeing off the children of the Beijing Camp?"

"Yes, the imperial court conquered Chahar and recruited thousands of young men from the Beijing Army. They are skilled in archery and horse riding, but they just lack the opportunity to fight in the battlefield. Now they have got what they wanted."

"Such a grand send-off?"

"Master, this was organized by the Taichang Temple and Shuntian Prefecture. A few days ago, the new military camp was set out, and the scene was even more spectacular than this. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince led the group, and the nobles, the cabinet ministers, and the civil and military officials all came, and half of the people in the capital also came.

That guy, gongs and drums shook the sky, flags filled the city, it was more lively than the New Year. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince personally poured wine and toasted the twenty sergeants and military academy representatives, and saw them off for ten miles.

Then the prince took the lead, and tens of thousands of people shouted in unison, "Great Ming will win!" and sang military songs in unison. That scene, wow, I will never forget it in my life.

Compared to that day, today is a small event.”

Wang Daokun became even more curious, so he simply got out of the sedan chair. He saw Li Shizhen, Wan Quan, Tu Long and Pan Zhiheng also got out and stood on the side of the road watching the fun.

Thousands of young men dressed in military uniforms, wearing big hats, with steel swords on their waists, bows and arrows on their backs, and each wearing a red flower on his chest, walked out of Chaoyang Gate in an orderly formation.
Both sides of Chaoyang Gate were filled with people. There were old people, women and children, waving goodbye to their loved ones with tears in their eyes. There were young girls hiding behind the crowd, suddenly throwing out osmanthus branches.

These are girls from ordinary families. They don’t have to be so particular and can’t afford to be so particular.

On the open space over there, there were more than a dozen big drums and more than a dozen big gongs, and a group of musicians were beating the drums and gongs with all their might.

The banging sounds made my ears numb.

Thousands of young people came out and formed a square in the open space in front of the door.

A man in his fifties, with white hair and beard but very strong, dressed in military uniform and a big hat, stepped forward, raised his right hand, and the sound of gongs and drums stopped.

He took over a large metal loudspeaker and shouted to the young people: "Enlist in the national war, it is our honor! Fight hard and kill the enemy, bring honor to our family!"

Finally, he raised his head to the sky and shouted with all his might: "Great Ming will win!"

Thousands of young people shouted loudly: "Great Ming will win!"

He roared three times in succession, and the area within a ten-mile radius was so quiet that even a pin drop could be heard.

A military officer stepped forward and shouted, "Military song, everyone is united, start singing!"

"If ten thousand people are united, Mount Tai can be shaken! Only loyalty and righteousness can make one's spirit so strong that it can fight a bull. The Lord loves me like a parent; if I violate the military order, I will not be free. The orders are clear, and the rewards and punishments are credible. I will not hesitate to face the water and fire!"

It can only be said that there is a slight melody, and the rest is entirely based on roaring, but the roar is earth-shaking and powerful.

Wang Daokun could not help being moved, and turned to ask the sedan bearer, "Is this a new military song?"

The sedan bearer was so fascinated that Wang Daokun asked several times before he was awakened. He turned around and replied, "Master, this is a military song from the new military camp. It is said that it was written by Mr. Qi and was approved by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince before being sung in the army.

These are all children of the Beijing Army, and they have all learned it thoroughly."

His eyes were full of envy, which made Wang Daokun very touched.

"Looking at your appearance, I'm really envious."

"How can I not be envious? Since the crown prince came to power, the treatment of soldiers has been very good. The food and wages are effective and paid on time, and they are no longer deducted or lost. There are rewards after fighting a battle, and rewards for winning a battle. If you are lucky, you can make achievements and be awarded a title. If you are unlucky, you can also get land and rewards.

Hu Laosan from my alley, his eldest son followed Uncle Qi to the war in Kalaqin.

His luck was damn good, smoke was coming out of his ancestral grave, and he actually killed Xin Ai's father-in-law and fourth son, and was awarded the rank of General Xuanwei, a fourth-rank general, and got hundreds of acres of land in Kaiping, and became a master all of a sudden.

It's a pity that I only have some strength, not archery or horsemanship, and I'm a little old, otherwise I would have enlisted in the army. But I sent my eldest and second sons to Zhongwu School to see if there is any smoke coming out of the ancestral graves, and whether they can have a future. "

Seeing the eager faces of the sedan bearers, Wang Daokun felt indescribable emotions in his heart, "Going into battle to kill the enemy is no joke, what if something goes wrong?"

"Haha, I can even choke when drinking water! A bright future and wealth will not fall from the sky, you have to risk your life. If you are injured, the court will provide you with an allowance and a place to go, so you can live a worry-free life. If you really lose your life, there will be a pension, and one of your brothers, nephews or nieces can be enrolled in the non-commissioned officer school or the training institute.

We poor people have suffered for generations, so what if we have a chance to turn things around and risk our lives? What we fear is that we don’t even have a chance to risk our lives, and our descendants will have to suffer for generations to come.”

Looking at the deep wrinkles on the sedan bearer's face and his tanned skin, Wang Daokun felt that his words were a bit extreme, but he didn't know how to refute him.

Next, Shuntian Prefecture Governor Liu Yingjie and four elders came forward to toast the young men of the Beijing camp. They all drank it all in one gulp, and the people around them cheered enthusiastically.

Quarter of an hour later, the farewell meeting ended, everyone dispersed, and the road to Chaoyang Gate gradually became unobstructed again.

Wang Daokun got into the sedan chair with a lot of thoughts in mind.

The sedan chair was lifted up and moved forward steadily with a creaking sound.

After entering Chaoyang Gate and arriving at East City, noise instantly surrounded us from all directions.

"The finest Zhangrong, also known as velvet in the imperial court, is glossy and shiny. Come and have a look even if you don't want to buy it!"

"Western goods, real Western goods. Glassware, glass mirrors that can reflect things clearly, all of them are real Western goods!"

"A clock that's on time 24 hours a day. There are table clocks and pocket watches. They're certified by the Imperial Observatory. If it's late by a quarter of an hour a day, I'll give you my wife as compensation!"

"Come and buy it! This kitchen knife is made of top-quality steel, it can cut through iron like mud! Where does this good steel come from? It's from the Kaiping Yong'an Steel Plant! This is the factory designated by the Imperial Court to manufacture weapons and armor. Do you think the steel is good?"

The hawking voices rose and fell in a rhythmic rhythm, accompanied by the sound of bells from pack horses and camels.

Wang Daokun was at a loss whether to laugh or cry. He hadn't been to the capital for several years and he never expected it to turn out like this.

It has a stronger sense of commercialism, but looks more lively and energetic.

I turned onto another road and heard someone preaching loudly on the side of the road.

"My compatriots! The Chahar tribe of the northern barbarians is a great threat to the northern part of our Ming Dynasty. They have repeatedly plundered the capital of Liaodong, causing tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians to be killed or injured, and countless people to be torn apart and displaced.

Now the imperial court has ordered an expedition to the north to eradicate the border troubles so that the people can enjoy peace forever. Fellow countrymen, the soldiers are sacrificing their lives for our peace, what should we do?
Of course, we will help if we can! Here is a list of 5,000 pairs of cloth shoes. The cloth and thread are provided by the government. I would like to ask the elders and villagers to help make them in their spare time. Is there any elder and villager who can come out and share the money? "

There was silence for a while.

"My fellow countrymen, think about it. These cloth shoes we make will be worn on the feet of soldiers at the front. Some of them are our sons and nephews, some are our neighbors, and we have all watched them grow up. Now they are fighting for the Ming Dynasty in the north and shedding blood. Shouldn't we make a pair of cloth shoes for them?"

After waiting for more than ten breaths, a woman's voice called out, "Give me ten pairs. My fourth son is going to the war. Maybe he can wear the shoes I make."

Another old woman's voice sounded, "Give me three pairs. My neighbor's fifth son has joined the army. He is very filial to me. I am old and my eyesight is not good, so just make three pairs."

Somewhat surprised, Wang Daokun lifted the window cloth of the sedan chair and saw from afar an old woman, who was bent over and tremblingly walked out of the crowd and took a bag of shoe materials.

His heart seemed to be blocked by something and also seemed to be burned by something.

This may be what people’s will is all about.

In just a few years, the capital city has changed so much that I almost don't recognize it.

Wang Daokun became more and more curious and was eager to ask his good friend Wang Shizhen about all this.

In fact, he had a very good relationship with Hu Zongxian, Qi Jiguang and Wang Yi'e. Hu Zongxian, Qi Jiguang and Wang Yi'e wrote to him many times to recommend him for a comeback.

But Wang Daokun had become disillusioned with his official career and felt that the court was not suitable for him. He preferred to travel around, write scripts, and sing with his friends.

A few days ago, Hai Rui stood at the gate of Xu Mansion in Huating and introduced himself. The eldest son of the Xu Mansion was so scared that he fled to Suzhou through the back door.

Then he sat down in the Songjiang government office without saying a word.

The extremely powerful Prime Minister Xu immediately wrote a letter and personally sent his two sons back to voluntarily hand over 300,000 acres of fertile land. In the meantime, dozens of aristocratic families in Nanzhili also gave up millions of acres of land.

Hai Rui returned the land that should be returned to the people, sealed up the remaining land deeds and submitted them to the Ministry of Revenue. Then he left in a blue shirt and with an old servant.

When Wang Daokun heard the news, he felt that the world was changing and his heart was moved. Taking advantage of Wang Shizhen's invitation and under the banner of exchanging Kunqu opera, he took his good friends Tu Long and Pan Zhiheng to Beijing to find out the wind direction.

As soon as I arrived in Beijing, I found that it was indeed completely different!
The world has really changed!

(End of this chapter)