Ming Dynasty: Summoning game players at the beginning

Chapter 91 The Rap of Ming Dynasty

Outside Luoshan City, a high stage was erected, a bonfire was burning brightly, and rows of square tables were filled with wine, meat and food, with villagers and beggar soldiers sitting on them.

The bonfires placed around were lit, and the fireworks that shot up into the sky looked like giant dragons twisting their bodies in the wind.

The light of the flames covered the soldiers and civilians who were attending the celebration banquet around them with a red robe like the sunset. They ate, talked and hummed.

Fireworks exploded above our heads like gorgeous flowers. At this moment, it seemed as if the war and troubles were left behind, and only the joy of the banquet remained.

Hundreds of selected auxiliary soldiers walked onto the stage in groups.

They were watched by many military and civilians below the stage. They were both shy and nervous about going on stage for the first time, but also inadvertently revealed a sense of pride.

"Hold your head high!"

Under the shouts of the players, they tried their best to hold their heads high and show their best mental outlook.

The commander-in-chief of the Qihuo Army successively distributed fifty taels of silver and a medal of honor to outstanding soldiers.

The medal is a large "round coin" made of silver. According to the weight of pure silver, it is enough to be used as three taels of silver.

Not only the brave soldiers in battle were commended, but also the "old wounded" who were wounded many times but still stood firm in the battle.

The players in the audience, uncharacteristically, restrained their silly behavior, as if completely immersed in the solemn award ceremony, watching quietly, occasionally clapping and cheering.

These are the veterans they brought up personally and who have been with them through life and death.

Players seem to have a burning sense of pride in their hearts, a sense of accomplishment that their children have grown up.

"You are our warrior!"

"Good job, brothers!"

"We will fight side by side in the future!"

The marshals shook hands with each soldier, talked to him, and said a few nice words to him.

"Thank you, Marshal!"

Even the young man who was once a soldier in a camp and was now a member of the Beggar Army felt a strong sense of pride rushing to his brows, and almost bent down and knelt down.

"Don't be nervous, young man." The marshal gently stroked the soldier's shoulder in an attempt to ease his nervousness.

Unexpectedly, this simple action was seen as a dimensionality reduction attack by the latter.

Since ancient times, there have been almost no generals who would treat lowly soldiers equally.

The kindness and amiability that were ingrained in the Qihuo Army commanders made people feel an irrepressible joy bursting out from their chests.

The soldier's head was dizzy, and the passion and gratitude in his heart turned into a strong fire, and tears flowed from the corners of his eyes.

After the award ceremony for "Outstanding Soldiers" was completed, the Marshal announced the official welfare benefits of the Beggar Army.

Needless to say, the military pay and rations are definitely higher than those of the official army of the same level.

The most important thing is the pension. For anyone who unfortunately dies in battle, the Qihuo Army will pay 30 months of pension to his wife, children and the elderly.

Assuming that an auxiliary soldier's monthly salary is one tael and two cents, and his monthly rations are five dou, then the total pension is about fifty taels.

This figure is based on the modern Chinese pension standard: 20 times the average annual urban income of the previous year + 40 months' salary for soldiers.

In comparison, the beggar army only paid thirty months' salary, which was considered average.

Of course, compared with the pensions in the Ming and Qing dynasties, it is indeed a generous reward.

If there are no relatives or descendants in the family, the Qihuo Army will adopt an orphan for him to continue the deceased's family line.

The two policies of continuing incense offerings and providing generous pensions and rewards shocked the uninformed people and militiamen.

If a soldier of the government army died on the battlefield, the imperial court would at most give a few taels of silver as compensation, but it was still a question whether the soldier's family could get it.

It is even more impossible to take the trouble to find orphans to continue the family line for the soldiers.

The Qihuo Army not only said it, but also did it.

The soldiers, both on and off the stage, couldn't help but feel their eyes warmed, and secretly swore in their hearts that they would always be loyal to the commander of the Qihuo Army.

Men like the commanders of the Qihuo Army who are kind-hearted and capable of fighting should have stormed into the capital and seized that damn throne!
As for those "anti-beggar army" members lurking in the dark, they felt that these were bandits trying to win over people's hearts and take the money that should have belonged to them, the gentry and local elders.

After the award ceremony, it was time for a party for everyone to have fun together.

Under the illumination of bonfire and candlelight, more than ten players in casual shorts rushed onto the stage.

They twisted their limbs and buttocks with all their might, sometimes spinning on the ground with their heads as cover, sometimes sliding and tapping, making the floor creak, and sometimes jumping violently, as if they wanted to break their knees and ankles...

Experts of ventriloquism were making sounds in the corner, like human-shaped musical instruments.

Although ordinary people cannot understand this "elegant music", players enjoy it very much.

Huang Zilong, sitting in the audience, couldn't help but sway his shoulders to the beat, while Lu Xiaobu slapped his thigh and said, "Hey, this is really the Ming Dynasty with hip-hop."

The trendy dance ended, and the next one was a group of musicians and female players.

The female player sang with a simple loudspeaker. The woman's singing seemed to have a soul-healing effect, and the song "Call of Silence" touched the heart directly.

At this time, a round of fireworks shot straight into the sky, and gorgeous colorful flowers exploded in the night sky, making people shout loudly. What was presented before us was infinite freedom.

"Zhang Xianzhong" sat at the table with a doting and kind look on his face, while the breakthrough player next to him clapped his hands on the table and laughed - Ajie was invited by a muscular man to dance by the campfire. Before Ajie could refuse, the strong man grabbed him with one hand and made him dance by the campfire.

Lu Xiaobu, Liu Changsheng and Huang Zilong were playing "Drawing Ghost Cards" together, with three copper coins in each round, and the unlucky Lu Xiaobu had already lost a dozen.

The families of soldiers and civilians also joined in the fun. A group of children ran around and laughed between the square tables, including countless pairs of childhood sweethearts.

This caused the pure love warriors to sigh secretly, saying that childhood sweethearts are so beautiful.

Huang Zilong slowly put down the cards. He looked around and took in the lively scene of the celebration dinner. It was as if he was back at the festival parties during his student days, with wonderful performances being performed one after another.

The classmates around were laughing and playing, waiting for the long holiday to come the next day on this beautiful night.

After the song was over, a group of familiar ancient music bands came onto the stage, carrying pipa, flute and guzheng.

Originally there was also the "instrument rogue" suona, but because this instrument was too domineering, it was banned from ensemble performances.

The ancient style orchestra played the familiar "Jingwei". The light, passionate, ups and downs of the free melody were like a bird flying into the sky.

Even though Li Guo had no idea about the culture of the Beggar Army, he could still fully understand the Jingwei tune played by the ancient musical instruments.

The gorgeous fireworks rose into the sky again.

He subconsciously shook his thighs to beat the rhythm, looking at all the soldiers and civilians around him laughing heartily. An unprecedented calmness dispelled his inner anxiety and worries.

He was happy and relaxed, and he wanted to stay happy like this forever.

But he's leaving.

Happy moments are always short, just as there is no banquet that will last forever.

On this day, Li Guo formally led the remaining troops of the Chuang army to bid farewell to the Qihuo army.

The original 2,000 soldiers of the rebel army expanded to 3,500.

Without asking for any supplies, Li Guo and his son rode their horses to bid farewell to the commander of the Beggar Army on the outskirts of the city.

The Qihuo Army tried to persuade Li Guo to stay, but Li Guo did not accept it.

He and Laiheng rode away on horseback, but ran into several of his subordinates who came to apologize to him - they were deeply attracted by the atmosphere and institutional culture of the Beggars' Army, and hoped to bring their troops to join the Beggars' Army.

Several people knew that changing allegiance meant betrayal, and they were prepared to die. Even if Li Guo wanted to kill them, they would not resist.

But Li Guo did not try to persuade him to stay. Instead, like an elder at home, he gave the young man some advice before he left for the journey.

Even if you completely surrender to them, you must strictly abide by the military discipline of the Beggar Army and not violate or resist.

After being granted permission, those people could not hide their joy. After thanking their former leader, they hurriedly returned to the Qihuo Army with their troops, which also numbered about 1,500 people.

The troops under Li Guo's command once again returned to the two thousand people who had encountered the Beggar Army before, as if they had had a beautiful dream that did not belong to them.

He looked at his troops' departing backs thoughtfully, and suddenly turned his horse around and went back, trotting until he was a hundred steps away from the Qihuo army before he reined in his horse.

"I am Li Guo, a native of Mizhi, Shaanxi. I am honored to fight alongside you heroes. We will meet again in the future. Whether you are enemies or friends, I, Li Guo, will never harm your lives."

As Li Guo spoke, he bent down and took out a small knife from the side of his calf, cut off a strand of hair and threw it into the air.

"I am willing to shave my head and swear an oath, making a lifelong alliance with you all!"

"A lifelong oath!" Li Guo smiled when he saw the old soldiers of the Beggar Army who heard the words also cut their hair and roared a firm oath to the sky.

A lifetime alliance, no regrets in life.

He reined in his horse, turned around, and galloped forward across the flat ground, his hooves splashing cement behind him.

"Wait? What did he say his name was?"

"He seems to be from Mizhi, Shaanxi, Li Guo?" The players with better ears got the general idea.

"Wait! Li Guo?" Someone discovered the key point, "He is the one who is older than Li Zicheng, but younger than Li Zicheng, nicknamed a tiger, and loyally helped Li Zicheng build his empire.

After the fall of the Ming Dynasty, he took up the banner of the peasant army against the Qing Dynasty, regardless of the previous grudges against the Ming court, and resolutely established a united front against the Qing Dynasty. Even after being severely betrayed by the Ming army, he still chose to consider the overall situation and cooperate with the Ming army. Is this Li Guo, who is hailed as the most conscientious person in the Southern Ming Dynasty?!

"Yes, it's him!"

"Shit! I missed out on this! He's one of the most loyal and conscientious generals in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. From a Three Kingdoms perspective, he's Guan Yu and Zhao Zilong. From a card game perspective, he's a top-tier SSR!"

"Then hurry up and capture him!"

This is a collector of ancient military generals. As soon as he sees a military general with good character and ability, he wants to get him into his possession.

"Alas, it's too late. He left with his men."

"Forget it, forget it. I'll definitely do it next time. We can even bully his loyal subordinates, and we can bully him away from Li Zicheng in the future. There's still a lot of time, so we can bully him slowly."

……

In a wealthy village on the western border of Shangcheng, the gentry were in a state of panic after hearing the news of the beggar army's great victory.

They didn't expect that the Qihuo Army could survive and win the encirclement of the government army, which claimed to have 100,000 troops.

What's even more terrifying is that only 800 people from the Qihuo Army defeated 100,000 government troops in one battle, which was even more terrifying than Zhang Liao's dominance at Xiaoyaojin back then.

(End of this chapter)