A small soldier of the frontier army in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 174
According to what Feng Dachang said, the new general Mao Bin had already set off from Yongning City, and he would arrive at Baoan Prefecture Guard in two days. Ask him to make relevant reception preparations.

That Mao Bin was originally a guerrilla on the East Road. After Wang Dou assigned some of his heads, Zhang Guowei, the original general of Yongning, was promoted to deputy commander, and Mao Bin logically took his position and moved to Yongning City.He is now the commander of the second rank and the rank of magistrate, and he has several garrison and integrity officers in Jinghu Fort, Sihaiye Fort, Baoan Old City, Baoan New City, Huailai City, and Yongning City, and he is in charge of the soldiers and horses of the East Road. , Urging everyone to practice military horses, arrange equipment, repair city piers, etc.

In the army of Daming Border Town, the soldiers and horses directly led by the chief soldier are called "Zhengbing", the soldiers and horses directly led by the deputy chief soldier are called "Qingbing", the soldiers and horses led by the guerrilla general are called "Guerbing", and the soldiers and horses led by the general are called "Guerbing". Called "reinforcements", these are battalion soldiers, also known as war soldiers, and only these people are eligible to receive the food and salaries issued by the court. The head pays the grain.

There were nearly 500 officers and soldiers on the entire East Road, and thousands of horses and mules. Among them, the reinforcements led by Mao Bin numbered more than [-] people and more than [-] mules and horses.Mao Bin took over the position of General of the East Road at the end of last year, and has been silent in Yongning City. Why did he suddenly come to Baoanzhou Guard for inspection?
Feng Dachang whispered to Wang Dou: "My lord, is it because of Zhang Xuejiao's matter that General Mao Shen came here?"

Mao Bin's brother-in-law Zhang Xuejiao has been honest and honest these days since he was reprimanded by Wang Dou. Wang Dou said: "You don't have to worry about this matter. I have my own ideas. You should go and prepare for the reception."

Feng Dachang responded respectfully, he made a bow, and backed away without making a sound.

Zhang Gui and Qian Zong Tian Changguo followed behind Wang Dou. When they heard Feng Dachang's words, Zhang Gui said in surprise, "My lord, Mao Shen's coming to Bao'an Prefecture is a big event. Should we prepare well?"

Wang Doudao: "The important thing is to farm the fields. I have already instructed Mr. Feng to handle it, so there is no need to make a big fuss."

Tian Changguo leaned closer, and said in a low voice: "My lord, I think it's better to be cautious... I heard that Mao Shen will be..."

Wang Dou pondered for a while, and said: "Forget it, Mr. Tian, ​​let you and Mr. Feng take charge of the reception, and handle it properly."

Tian Changguo responded happily. The integrity of the adults entrusted him with such an important matter. It can be seen that he values ​​​​himself. Tian Changguo was quite excited. His two big sleepy eyes lit up, and he went away in high spirits. .

After Tian Changguo left, Wang Dou looked at the fields in front of him. The wilderness and plains were densely packed with human heads, and countless soldiers and civilians were sweating in the fields.Time is running out, autumn sowing is not far away, and there are still many irrigation wells to be dug, and there are also many waterwheels to be erected.

From this year onwards, the drought in Baoanzhou is also severe, and the fields outside the state have dried up. If irrigation wells are not dug, the soldiers and civilians will have to go several miles, or even tens of miles away, to fetch water. Shangtun has been planted, so it is imperative to build many irrigation wells.

In order to dig wells, Wang Dou has already mobilized the soldiers and civilians in the entire Baoan Prefecture. Tens of thousands of people worked together, allowing them to see the power of the collective.According to the ordinary people in Changzhou City, it would take more than a month for them to build a deep masonry well and cost tens of taels of silver.Under Wang Dou's organization, the whole city's soldiers and civilians worked day and night, and usually dozens of people could build a irrigation well within [-] days, or even more than ten days. The waterwheel on the frame is set up, and the speed is really fast.

In Wangdou’s excavation and irrigation of wells, the soldiers and civilians can donate or organize them to dig and fell the raw materials. The construction of the waterwheel also mobilizes a large number of men and women to assist the craftsmen of Shun Township Castle. There is no need to pay for raw materials and manpower. However, the food for the soldiers and civilians is provided by Wang Dou.

Tens of thousands of people eat and drink a lot, and they have to be fed. During busy times, more than 1000 shi rice grains are needed a month. Irrigation wells in various places have been dug since March and April, especially in May and June. Went to Wangdou for thousands of shi rice grains, all of which were bought by Wangdou with silver. The Wanshenghe rice store in Zhoucheng only does Wangdou's business, so of course the manager has become the largest rice store in Zhoucheng.

With the organizational support of the government, digging wells for their own fields and having enough food to eat, the soldiers and civilians in Baoan Prefecture are very enthusiastic about digging wells. They take the initiative to find places with water, pick soil, and pull rocks.

At this time, in front of Wang Dou, more than fifty soldiers and civilians were digging a well, more than half of them were young and strong. out of the well.When the hole was dug to a depth of three feet, it encountered rocks. The more so, it proved that there was an aquifer below, and the soldiers and civilians worked hard to dig down.

Today, the well has been drilled to a depth of nearly [-] feet. After ten days of digging, only the excavated mud and rocks are piled high beside the well.The owner of this well is a military household under Qian Zongtian Changguo's command. There are six members in their family, and an old lady in the family is over [-] years old, which is considered to be a very long life in Ming Dynasty.

Their family reclaimed [-] acres of wasteland, and the old lady was very happy when she heard that Mr. Cheng was digging a well for her family. Every day she leaned on a cane and was helped by her family to the well.

Seeing the soldiers and civilians busy at the mouth of the well, she was very sorry, and ordered her family to make tea for everyone to drink every day. At this time, she saw Wang Dou beside her, and heard that the tall general in front of her was the king of integrity often mentioned by military households. My lord, she brought a bowl of tea herself, walked forward tremblingly supported by her family, and said respectfully: "My lord, the old lady has nothing to repay, but this bowl of tea is a little token of my heart."

Wang Dou smiled and said, "Okay, thank you, old man."

Watching Wang Dou drink the tea, the old lady broke into a smile.

Suddenly there was a shout of joy: "The water has come out."

Sure enough, spring water came out of the irrigation well that had been drilled for ten days. Everyone around cheered and celebrated the successful drilling of the well.

Wang Dou was also very happy. At this level, the well only needs to be expanded and filled with pebbles to form a well. It doesn't take long.He estimated that this well produced a lot of water. Originally, if there were water pumps and other things in later generations, the daily water output of a well would be enough to meet the water needs of hundreds of pigs, thousands of chickens and ducks, and more than 200 acres of nearby fields. Right now, there are only manpower and water trucks, which can only meet the water needs of [-] acres of fields.

The old lady was overjoyed, she walked around the mouth of the well for a while, and led her family to kowtow to Wang Dou, she cried: "The old lady thanked the lord, the lord's kindness, the old lady's family will never forget it."

Her family kowtowed along with her, and everyone around her felt the same way. This family had a field and an irrigation well, so they could live a good life.This is thanks to the rule of Mr. Morality, so there is such a good thing.

Wang Dou said warmly to the old lady: "You don't have to do this, please get up."

This field is not far from an official road. At this time, there is a beautiful carriage parked on the road. In the carriage, Miss Ji is sitting with the young lady. Looking at the situation over there, Miss Ji said: "Sister Wanyun , you see that Wang Douhao is good at buying people's hearts, and those soldiers and civilians regard him as a living Bodhisattva."

The young lady was a little careless, she said: "Master Wang digs wells and divides fields for the army and the people. There are countless living people. It is common sense for the people to be grateful."

She smiled and said: "Sister, you are doing well in Lucheng, why do you think of coming to Zhoucheng again?"

Miss Ji's face was sad, and she sighed, "Don't mention it."

……

Wang Dou and Zhang Gui patrolled the fields and saw that the various places were in full swing. According to this progress, before the autumn sowing, everyone's irrigation wells should be dug and water trucks installed.With the irrigation of wells and water trucks, at least next year, the soldiers and civilians in Zhoucheng will be able to provide food and clothing.

I have been working hard since I arrived in Daming in the seventh year of Chongzhen. The bigger the official, the more soldiers and civilians I have under my command, and the more people I have to support. The mental pressure is not trivial. As the head of the family, Wang Dou feels tired!
But he has no choice. As the parent official of the people, he has the responsibility to let the people live a stable life, at least to let them have enough food.I have worked hard, but Wang Dou is not sure what will happen to Baoanzhou in the future.

Zhang Gui was also moved with emotion. Seeing the respectful eyes of the soldiers and civilians all the way, he couldn't help but said to Wang Dou: "Your Excellency is benevolent, but I only see it. I am deeply honored to be able to follow Your Excellency."

Wang Dou shook his head and remained silent.

Suddenly hearing a commotion ahead, Wang Dou frowned: "What's the matter?"

Zhang Guidao: "Go down and have a look."

He went there in a hurry, and he came back soon, saying: "My lord, some households are making a fuss, and asked why the well drilling team didn't help them dig wells."

Wang Dou grumbled: "Why didn't the well drilling team help them dig wells? I promised that Mr. Li, the governor of the state, is a private household in the state, and he will also assist in the well digging."

Zhang Gui said in a low voice: "Your Excellency, I don't know that those troublemakers are the sons of the country gentry, the officials have seen it, and their fields are listed in the land reclamation booklet of Master Li of the prefecture, and there is no registrant Hu Tianmu. "

Wang Dou remained calm: "So, these people reclaim wasteland, but they don't want to register the land, don't want to pay taxes and grains in the future, and want me to help them dig wells for free?"

Zhang Gui said bitterly: "These squires usually boast that they have read sage books, but they don't give up a penny. It's no wonder they are willing to pay taxes and grains. Among the households in the prefectural city, my lord, such things happen a lot."

Wang Dou said with a sneer: "Those who don't have the names of the farmers in the document don't dig wells outright. They don't want to pay taxes and grains, so let them carry water by themselves!"

He said to Chi Dacheng, the governor of the town: "Master Chi, you lead the patrol, if someone dares to cause trouble and obstruct the work of the well-drilling team, I will arrest them all, and each of them will be beaten with twenty army sticks first!"

……

The sun was scorching hot, and on June 25, the tenth year of Chongzhen, a group of ceremonial guards marched into the border of Baoanzhou. One of the huge "Mao" flags shone in the sun. Guards in armor, all of them were sweating profusely under the scorching sun, and looked quite tired.

Behind these guards, Donglu General Mao Bin rode on a war horse. His slender eyes looked at the scenery on both sides of the official road for a while, and a shrill voice sounded: "This Wang Dou is very courageous. I heard in Yongning City that he was digging wells in the sub-fields of Baoan Prefecture, and sure enough, as soon as he entered the prefecture, there was a lot of excitement."

Xu Zucheng, who was guarding the Security Department beside him, said with a smile, "This Wang Dou is indeed very motivated and a talent."

Mao Bin chuckled and said, "It's good for young people to be energetic, but if they are too energetic and don't know how high or low it is, that's not good."

Xu Zucheng was taken aback, why did General Mao Shen say such a thing?
Wen Shiyan and Wang Xiaowei, who were behind Mao Bin, were moved in their hearts. They looked at each other and saw the joy in each other's eyes.

(End of this chapter)