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

Chapter 332
On April 12th, the [-]th year of Chongzhen, Huailai City.

"Has Wang Dou taken office yet?"

"I heard that I went to Yongning yesterday, but I passed by Huailai but didn't come to see him, it's really arrogant."

In Huailai Bingbei Mansion, it was Donglu Guanliangtong judge Guo Shitong and Bingbei Dao Ma Guoxi who were talking.

Both of them are Ji Shiwei, a former military officer, and Feng Shilei, a former officer of Donglutong, who was transferred to the town and served as an official here. The new general of Yongning is about to take office. Both of them are concerned, especially when Wang Dou is famous all over the world. Down.

But that Wang Dou was too unhurried, he only went to Yongning City to take up his post after returning to Baoan Prefecture for a month.Although the officials of the Ming Dynasty will take office within three months, but Baoan Prefecture is so close to Yongning City, and Wang Dou is so procrastinating, it can't help but make them wait impatiently.

But yesterday Wang Dou passed by Huailai city, instead of coming in to see the military equipment and judges in the city, he went directly to Yongning, which made Ma Guoxi and Guo Shitong very unhappy.

Ma Guoxi was old and cunning, he didn't show it at all on his face, he still smiled and looked harmless to humans and animals.But sitting down with his head down, the dissatisfaction on Guo Shitong's face could not be concealed.

Guo Shitong is in his forties this year. He is tall and thin, with a dark expression on his face.His green robe is plain and silver, and he is a Luluan Buzi. In terms of official position, he is only a civil servant of the sixth rank.However, as a general judge, he is in charge of the entire Huailong Road East Road's food and payment matters, and there are many people who ask for it, so when he speaks, he has an undeniable taste.

This is true of all household officials in the Ming Dynasty, especially Guo Shitong's backer is Chen Xinjia, Governor of Xuanda.With such a strong backing, even though he was transferred to Xuanfu Town East Road not long ago, he already has a feeling that those who follow me prosper and those who go against me perish. He only maintains some respect for the military officer Ma Guoxi in politeness.

He put down the teacup in his hand, and said to Ma Guoxi: "Ma Gong, this Wang Dou is so domineering, and I will see that the affairs of the East Road will be quite easy to deal with in the future. I heard that Wang Dou is doing various things in Bao'an Prefecture, do you think we will be taken seriously?" Here, do you take the imperial court seriously?"

Hearing what he said, Ma Guoxi still chuckled. He stroked his beard and said, "Wang Dou has made contributions to the country, and he is young and vigorous, so he can't help but be considerate in dealing with things. Mr. Guo, as the chief officer of the East Road, we are still magnanimous." For the highest, magnanimity is the highest, to show the meaning of civil and military harmony."

Hearing what Ma Guoxi said, Guo Shitong picked up the teacup in his hand again, and only hummed coldly in his heart: "Old fox."

Ma Guoxi's full name is the deputy envoy of the Shanxi Provincial Prosecutor's Commissioner of Rectifying Huailong and other departments, but he is from Zhending Prefecture, and he speaks with a strong Jinan accent. After Ji Shiwei was transferred to Zhencheng, he followed suit. Called Donglu.

He is more than fifty years old this year, wearing a red official uniform with a collar and a large robe, a jade belt across his waist, big ears on one side, and a long beard hanging down his chest. His official appearance is impeccable.In particular, he always has a gentle and harmless smile on his face, which makes people feel good at first sight.

However, Guo Shitong did not dare to underestimate Ma Guoxi, not to mention that he is a master of officialdom, but his backer, even Xue Guoguan, the chief assistant of the current cabinet, is enough to make people dare not underestimate him.Xue Guoguan is now well received by the holy family, even Yang Sichang, who is known as "Master Yang", dare not confront him head-on.

Although Guo Shitong was aggressive on the East Road, when facing Ma Guoxi, an old fritter, he was also full of dog scratches and stabs, and felt that he had no way to attack.You come and go, after several trials, the two generally maintained a peaceful situation of mutual non-aggression.

But now here comes a new general who doesn't seem to play cards according to common sense... In the past, a mere general would not be regarded by Guo Shitong and the others. So what if you are a senior member of the second rank?Still have to be respectful in front of them.

But Wang Dou is different, he is famous all over the world, there are cabinet ministers outside, and the governor of Xuanfu Town inside is Austrian aid. Guo Shitong doesn't know what will happen to the structure of the East Road.

Yesterday when he heard that Wang Dou left Baoan Prefecture and went to Yongning City, Guo Shitong expected that he would come to visit him in Huaihuai City, so he had prepared a lot of words, but Wang Dou went directly to Yongning City.This punch made Guo Shitong feel extremely uncomfortable.

"The imperial court ordered 20 rescued civilians to become military households, and Chen Duchen also intended to let Wang Dou organize and train [-] new troops on the East Road, and we will assist in the drill. The [-] new troops are no small matter, and the affairs of the government are complicated. Ma Gong has a plan?"

Guo Shitong suddenly mentioned another matter.

In the military system of each town, the participating generals and guerrillas are responsible for the training and defense of the troops, and the military preparing and general judges are in charge of the farmland and civil affairs along the way, providing supplies, food and grass for the army, and supervising the training of the participating generals and guerrilla generals, and supervising and dispatching in case of battle.

Although Xuan Da intends to order Wang Dou to train five thousand new troops, the power of supervision is of course in the hands of Ma Guoxi, and he is responsible for raising the food and salaries of the new troops, so he has a very important say.Especially in civil affairs, although the guards and generals have the power to garrison the land in name, but in fact, most of this power has been concentrated in the hands of the local soldiers.

So Guo Shitong asked this question.

Ma Guoxi pondered for a long time, then chuckled: "This matter is so important that it needs to be discussed in the long term. Civil and military are integrated, so let's wait to see General Wang before making a decision."

"It's a long-term plan again, and the curtain is extremely angry."

Guo Shitong snorted coldly again in his heart: "Inviting to flatter warriors, eunuch remnants of the party, never have the heart to serve the country."

He stood up and bowed to Ma Guoxi: "I still have business to do, so I will take my leave."

Looking at Guo Shitong's leaving back, Ma Guoxi narrowed his eyes.

As a disciple of Xue Guoguan, Ma Guoxi and other members of Xue's clan have always had the reputation of "very hated Donglin", the remnants of the "eunuch party".Until a few days ago, when things turned around, Xue Guoguan came out again, and was reused by the emperor, and he was regarded as Wen Tiren's second.

As the tide rises, the old officials of these disciples have also been promoted by Xue Guoguan one after another. Ma Guoxi has been in the procuratorate for many years, and it is the first time that he is mentioned as an important task of military preparation.While Ma Guoxi was ecstatic, he was also more calm in dealing with things.

For him, "safety" comes first. After all, he is getting older and he is not far away from becoming an official. The most important thing is to get through the past few years safely. But in everything, safety must be the top priority, and if you don't see a rabbit, you won't scatter an eagle.

His mantra is: "This matter needs to be discussed in the long run."

Around this goal, Ma Guoxi is easy to make a decision, and has always dealt with everything with a strategy of staying the same and responding to all changes.To his colleagues and subordinates, he is always like a spring breeze, amiable and amiable, and he also delegates power to the maximum extent. Among the officials in the East Road, he has won a series of reputations such as "friendly" and "not taking power".

A typical representative of the old bureaucrats of Ming Dynasty who "ruled by doing nothing".

Guo Shitong came to visit today, how could Ma Guoxi not understand his thoughts?He has paid attention to Wang Dou with all his heart, he is not an ordinary warrior, Guo Shitong wants himself to be the troublemaker...

Ma Guoxi snorted coldly, and closed his eyes to rest his mind: "Guo Shitong is narrow-minded and eager for fame, and Wang Dou is not a good man. Let the two of them fight to the death, and the old man sits firmly on the Diaoyutai."

……

As the head of the nine towns in the Ming Dynasty, Xuanfu Town is known as "the key to the capital" and "Xuanfu is the most important place in the nine borders", and the teaching ground of Xuanfu is even more famous all over the world.

At this time, on the teaching field, gold and spears are screaming, people are shouting and horses are neighing, and densely packed armored men are practicing, shouting loudly.

A tall and strong general who was nearly fifty years old and wearing a battle robe stood there firmly.He has a Chinese character face, full of wind and frost, and Gu Panjian is extremely majestic.He quietly watched his soldiers practice.Standing for a long time, still motionless.

Beside him, surrounded by a large group of generals and guards wearing armor, they also remained motionless and did not speak a word.

The general stood there deeply for a long time, beside him was a lieutenant general in his forties who was as strong as a square and said excitedly: "Junmen, after the battle last year, and I won a lot of money and two horses in the main barracks, Erlang They have enough food and clothing, and the combat power of my main barracks is several chips higher than before, and it should be firmly ranked first in the Nine Sides."

The general's face was full of knife scars and his voice was like thunder. It was Yang Guozhu's Chinese army general Guo Yingxian.

The standing veteran was naturally General Zhenshuo, Yang Guozhu, the chief officer of Xuanfu Town.

In March, when the imperial court conferred rewards, the military officers, headed by Yang Guozhu, were awarded Doctor Ronglu, Zuo Dudu, and Yin Yizi, a son of thousands of households.This kind of glory has reached the peak of the military officer of the Ming Dynasty today, and if it goes down, it will be the title of Marquis and Prime Minister.

Not only that, in the joint battle with Wang Dou, Yang Guozhu got more than 1 horse mules and 10 taels of silver, making his power even stronger.Not only did all the 5000 people in the main barracks change to the horse army, but they also had the capital to recruit troops on a large scale.

It feels the same as Wang Dou's falling asleep and touching the pillow. The imperial court decided to train and reform the town army in large numbers. Not only the 10,000+ people in the three towns of Xuanda have to practice.More government eliminated Tongzhou, equipment and training equipment.Prefectural judges were eliminated, county masters were eliminated, and training generals were set up to conduct large-scale military training across the country.

As the commander-in-chief of Xuanfu Town, Yang Guozhu can train another 1 elite soldiers under the name of Yang Guozhu, divide them into horsemen, appoint generals, and increase grain.At that time, the soldiers under Yang Guozhu's command can confidently reach 5000.

Excitement, this is the general feeling of people close to Yang Guozhu, headed by Guo Yingxian.After the battle last year, the generals believed that as long as the main battalion dared to fight, the combat power of the soldiers in the battalion would at least not lose to the infantry and vest soldiers of the Qing army.

Wait for the [-] soldiers to practice again...

Guo Yingxian couldn't help but smile happily, and the cheers were like thunder.

Yang Guozhu shook his head: "Last year's battle, my army has a lot of feelings, fighting in an army does not rely on fighting alone. I am a soldier in the barracks. In terms of bravery, everyone is not inferior to General Wang's Shunxiang army. He is victorious in all battles, and all the banners of Dongnu are invincible, we will wait..."

Speaking of this, Yang Guozhu sighed with emotion, and asked Guo Yingxian, "Has General Wang gone to East Road to take up his post?"

"I heard that I went there yesterday."

Guo Yingxian exclaimed: "That kid, you really can't bear it. After spending so long in Bao'an Prefecture, Old Guo really convinced him."

Yang Guozhu's expression remained unchanged: "Training is imperative, but our army intends to go to the East Road to see how General Wang trains the new army."

Guo Yingxian said happily: "Okay, I haven't seen that kid for a while, but I miss him a little bit, so I happened to find him for a drink of [-] cups."

Then he muttered again: "The east road is busy. I heard that many high officials of the court, as well as Hujunmen from Shanxi Town, Wang Pu from Datong Town, etc., are all inquiring about Wang Dou's military training. When, tsk tsk..."

……

In the capital that day, Emperor Chongzhen was summoning Huaiyang Road to consult Zheng Eryang on the platform to inquire about the payment of troops for training.

Zheng Eryang was quite effective in managing the military and politics in Huaiyang Dao. The whole country will train troops on a large scale. After hearing about Zheng Eryang's achievements, Emperor Chongzhen specially summoned him.

Facing the emperor's inquiry, Zheng Eryang said: "When I first arrived in Yangzhou, there were officers and soldiers in each battalion, and I have always followed the pretense. I am deliberately concise, and if there is a quota, I will ask for one soldier, and I will practice at any time. Therefore, for two years of defense against bandits, no one is invited. A soldier's salary."

Emperor Chongzhen said: "What is the world like about this matter?"

Zheng Eryang said: "Mostly the soldiers with quotas have the original salary, but if they practice practically and can be used, then the soldiers are not fake. That is to say, the nuclear soldiers are paid enough. If the soldiers do not practice, even the salary is useless."

Emperor Chongzhen asked again how to train troops, Zheng Eryang said: "What I see is only training with officers below the generals and guerrillas."

When Emperor Chongzhen asked how to practice, Zheng Eryang said: "For example, a general or a guerrilla chooses a thousand people, and a total of ten hundred is selected, and the responsibility is based on the art of war."

Emperor Chongzhen asked about the salary again, and Zheng Eryang said: "The salary, the ministers have already made a very detailed statement, the key is to get the person. It is like a drum casting a person, and the benefits go to public hazards..."

Listening to Zheng Eryang's question and answer, Emperor Chongzhen always had a familiar feeling. He suddenly remembered, isn't this what Lu Xiangsheng said to him a few years ago?I heard that Lu Xiangsheng's statement came from Wang Dou... Emperor Chongzhen watched Zheng Eryang for a long time, and Zheng Eryang was puzzled.

Back at Qianqing Palace, Emperor Chongzhen paced back and forth, summoned Wang Huamin, the eunuch of Dongchang, and said, "How is General Wang at Donglu?"

Wang Huamin knelt on the ground respectfully and said: "The servants ordered the factory guards to investigate in many places on the East Road and Baoan Prefecture. General Wang has not yet gone to Yongning to take up his post. He improved government affairs in Baoan Prefecture and paid for the soldiers. He heard that he had established a shogunate and set up bureaucrats. Pretty big."

Emperor Chongzhen nodded: "It's no different than a state. There are many political affairs on the East Road. General Wang set up a shogunate and recruited a lot of staff. It's also on his mind."

After a pause, he glanced at Wang Huamin, and said softly, "Have you found out the strength of General Wang's troops?"

Wang Huamin kowtowed and said, "Your servants have made many inquiries, and I can be sure that the number of soldiers and horses under General Wang's command will not be less than 2000. Except for more than [-] soldiers who are paid battalions, the rest are all strong local soldiers. However, their combat power seems to be no doubt comparable to that of the battalion soldiers. General Wang suffered [-] casualties in this battle.

Emperor Chongzhen was in a daze, he didn't understand, Wang Dou was just a guerrilla before, how did he raise such a huge army and horses, and his combat power was so outstanding?Moreover, he heard from the factory guards that the soldiers and horses under Wang Dou's command were not paid. How could they be willing to fight if they were not paid?
Wang Dou seems to have one mystery after another, making it hard for people to figure it out.

He paced back and forth again, and said to himself: "Based on General Wang's 5000 soldiers and horses, this time we will train troops on the nine sides, and Xuanzhen East Road will train 5000 new troops. In this way, General Wang has 1 troops under his command." Soldiers and horses, their troops are outstanding in combat power, [-] people can be slaves to [-] people..."

Listening to Emperor Chongzhen's words, Wang Huamin lay on the ground and did not dare to vent his anger. He thought to himself: "Could it be that the emperor has become suspicious of General Dingguo?"

This kind of language question can't be studied deeply, let alone interrupted, Wang Huamin only felt a chill running down his spine, and felt like he was sweating profusely, which was extremely uncomfortable.

After a long time, Emperor Chongzhen sighed: "General Wang is still loyal to the court, no more than Zuo Liangyu, Wu Sangui, He Renlong and the others..."

When He Renlong was mentioned, Emperor Chongzhen's tone was a bit cold.

On this kind of topic, Wang Huamin dared not interrupt.

Finally, the emperor regained his composure, and told Wang Huamin, "You send more factory guards to patrol the East Road."

Wang Huamin retreated respectfully like Feng Lun's voice, and when he walked to the door, he heard Emperor Chongzhen whisper: "It's a pity that I married a wife..."

Wang Huamin was stunned for a moment, his eyes rolling around.

※※※

Old White Bull:
There was a power outage during the day yesterday, so I simply reorganized the plot and characters at night, and the thinking is much smoother.

(End of this chapter)