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

Chapter 358

Among the two chief soldiers, one of them was too young, maybe the same age as Wang Dou, or maybe a year or two younger than Wang Dou.He has a fair complexion and a medium build. If Wang Dou is 1.8 meters five, then the general soldier is about 1.7 meters three or seven five.

Although he was of medium height, he was very stocky and very handsome.He wears a six-petal iron-pointed helmet on his head, and a blue-purple open-chested robe on the outside, exposing the fine chain mail inside. His eyes are focused, and he has a majestic and deep taste.

With his hands behind his back, he ignored the twittering of a lot of generals behind him, and looked thoughtfully at a newly built fort across the river.When Wang Dou looked at him, he also looked at Wang Dou, turned his eyes around Wang Dou, and nodded slightly.

The other general was in the late [-]s, with a Chinese character face, five features carved like a knife, a cloud wing helmet, a mountain armor, and a red cloak. He behaved vigorously, just like Yang Guozhu and Tiger Dawei. Ming soldiers.The two young generals behind him are a bit similar to him in appearance, they may be his sons.

The two young men were arguing about something as they walked about.Seeing that their voices were too loud, the chief soldier turned his head and glared at them, and the two young men were immediately speechless.

Wang Dou changed his mind, he had vaguely guessed who these two chief soldiers were.

Wang Dou went up with Chen Xinjia and others. As the chief minister of the cabinet, Xue Guoguan stood majestically in front of Yang Sichang and Hong Chengchou, and accepted the group meeting of Xuanda officials led by Chen Xinjia.

Chen Xinjia belonged to Yang Sichang's lineage, that is, Wang Dou's father-in-law Ji Shiwei, who followed Chen Xinjia closely, and could be considered Yang Sichang's lineage, except for Wang Dou's free faction.Of course, those who can enter the cabinet are all human beings. Xue Guoguan's demeanor is dignified and decent, and he helped Chen Xinjia up with his own hands, and greeted him with care.

Originally, this should be over, but Xue Guoguan kindly asked Chen Xinjia to introduce Xuanda officials and generals for him, and he wanted to personally express his comfort.

Following Chen Xinjia's introduction, the commander-in-chief of Xuanda's three towns, Wang Dou and other officers and generals from the East Road, came forward to pay respects according to their rank.Xue Guoguan praised them one by one, making everyone feel like a spring breeze when they meet, and the person who can become the chief assistant is really not an extraordinary person.

When it was Wang Dou's turn to meet, Xue Guoguan watched him for a long time, and made Wang Dou stand up with a smile. His voice was bright, with a trace of metal magnetism: "What a tiger general, no wonder he can defeat Dong Nu, the Holy Majesty personally ordered him to praise you!" Bravely crown the three armies."

Wang Dou felt that many eyes were cast on him, envious and jealous.

He saluted and said: "Don't dare to praise the elders of the labor cabinet. The battle of Zhuozhou, the battles of Pinggu, the sage on the top, Hongfu, and the ministers strategized. The generals of Yang Junmen and Hujunmen made decisions before the battle, and the final generals will kill the thieves." , by luck."

Xue Guoguan, Yang Sichang, Yang Guozhu and others all nodded, Xue Guoguan applauded Xu and said: "It's very rare to be neither arrogant nor impetuous."

Governor of Jiliao Hong Chengchou kept looking at Wang Dou, he was still so elegant, his beard and clothes were neatly groomed, he stood with Governor of Xuanda Chen Xinjia, exchanged some pleasantries, Chen Xinjia's expression was bright.

Then Hong Chengchou smiled at Wang Dou and said, "General Wang, after leaving the capital, you have been promoted to Xuanzhen to be a general. Congratulations. The governor's subordinates heard that you are good at battalion drills, and they all rushed to observe. Come, let Ben Lord introduces you."

He first called out: "Uncle Chang."

Then the young soldier Wang Dou paid attention to came out. Although he was young, he stood calmly, with the demeanor of a son of a family.The Imperial Steel Armor on Wang Dou on the opposite side shone dazzlingly in the sun, which not only attracted the attention of everyone in the field, but also made him take a closer look at it.

I only heard Hong Chengchou say: "General Wang, this is General Wu Sangui, the commander of Ningyuan, please get close to him."

Wang Dou thought to himself: "It really is Wu Sangui."

He clasped his fists and saluted: "It turns out that it is the Wu Junmen who is brave in the three armies and filial to the nine sides. The last general has heard of the name of the army. .At the end of the day, I want to look forward to it. Seeing you today is better than being famous."

This young soldier is none other than Wu Sangui, and the proudest thing in his life is to rescue his father from the Houjin soldiers.At this time, Wang Dou raised it openly in front of everyone, and he felt that his face was bright, even Hong Chengchou and the generals behind him also smiled.

Wu Sangui was also secretly amazed at Wang Dou's remarks, he smiled back and said: "General Wang is over-reputed, the general has beaten Dongnu many times, and he is invincible. This general has already been famous."

Although he was polite, he couldn't hide the arrogance in his tone.

Wang Dou smiled slightly. Although Wu Sangui in front of him was young, as a child of an aristocratic family, it goes without saying that he had such manners.It is heard that he once traveled to the capital and got to know famous officials, officials and literati, and won the reputation of "the youngest Baishen Tonghou".

The Wu family is a local tyrant in Liaodong, with deep-rooted influence. His father Wu Xiang is the general soldier of Jinzhou, and his uncle Dashou is also one of the general soldiers of Liaodong.Because of this background, Wu Sangui has always been valued by all parties. Gao Qiqian once accepted him as his adopted son. Soon after, Hong Chengchou will recommend him as the general soldier of Liaodong.

Hong Chengchou was the first to introduce him, which shows how much he values ​​Wu.

Unlike Wang Dou who worked hard step by step to climb up the ladder, Wu Sangui was born with a golden key in his mouth, and he succeeded his father as the commander of the capital as soon as he was born. Higher than the top, ordinary people do not look in the eyes.

However, Wu Sangui is indeed a capable person. If he is not a friend in the future, he will also be a formidable enemy.

Next, Hong Chengchou introduced to Wang Dou the general soldier who was in Lent that year.

Wang Dou gave a solemn salute: "The last general has seen the Golden Army Gate. At the beginning of the year, the slave chieftain led the army to Songshan, and the artillery arrows rained down on the city. Hands. The Jinjunmen resisted the powerful enemy and defended the isolated city. The final general will be very grateful."

Having said that, Wang Dou saluted again.

The chief soldier in front of him is Jin Guofeng, the commander-in-chief of the Ningyuan Regiment, who was originally the deputy chief soldier of Jinzhou.At the beginning of the year, Huang Taiji personally attacked Songshan, but was repulsed by Jin Guofeng many times.Unwilling to fail, Huang Taiji sent people back to Shengjing to bring in [-] cannons, [-] shells, and [-] hu of gunpowder to fire around the city.

Facing the fierce artillery fire, the battlements of the city were destroyed, but Jin Guofeng still held on to the city. In the end, Huang Taiji had no choice but to retreat and keep Songshan.Also because of this achievement, Jin Guofeng was promoted to the post of commander-in-chief of the department, and was promoted to the post of commander-in-chief of the Ningyuan regiment.

For such characters, Wang Dou sincerely admires them.

Jin Guofeng didn't expect Wang Dou to know so much about his affairs, Hu Mu turned around Wang Dou several times.Even Hong Chengchou, Wu Sangui and others looked at Wang Dou in surprise. What happened to Liaodong, why did he...

Like Wu Sangui, sticking to Songshan Mountain without losing it is also an extremely glorious thing for Jin Guofeng. When Wang Dou said it out loud, even his two sons were Mo Yurong.

A smile appeared on Jin Guofeng's face: "I have heard the name of General Wang for a long time. Julu, Zhuozhou, and Pinggu fought several battles. The slaves were invincible. They boosted the morale of our Ming army, and the future generations are formidable."

He spoke with a Xuanzhen accent. According to his native place, Jin Guofeng should be an avant-garde person in Xuanfu, that is, a person from Xuanhua in later generations.

Then came old acquaintances, Wang Tingchen laughed and stepped forward to hug Wang Dou, Cao Bianjiao also greeted Wang Dou with a smile.After the Battle of Pinggu, Wang Dou also forged a deep comrade-in-arms friendship with them, and it was a great joy to meet them again.

After introducing the Liaodong generals who had come, Wang Dou consciously retreated behind Yang Guozhu, which satisfied Yang Guozhu, and Guo Yingxian secretly gave Wang Dou a thumbs up.

Wang Dou was so appreciated by the cabinet ministers that he even went to Liaodong Town. Zhang Guowei was horrified and even more jealous.

Li Jianming, Wen Hui, Zhang Xinjing and the others snorted again.

……

After taking a short break in the pergola, Zongyi left for Yongning City in a mighty manner. The soldier Ma Guoxi was honored to be greeted beside Xue Guoguan, Yang Sichang, Hong Chengchou, Chen Xinjia and others.Along the way, he introduced the civil affairs along the way, while Wang Dou, Guo Yingxian, Hu Zichen, Wang Tingchen, Cao Bianjiao and others rode together on horseback.

They didn't know what wonderful things they were talking about, and burst out laughing from time to time, causing Wu Sangui, Jin Guofeng and others in front to look back frequently.Jin Guofeng's two sons are people who like to be lively. After listening for a while, they also rode their horses and joined the crowd, laughing and laughing with everyone.

Entering Yongning City, the prosperity and cleanliness amazed the group even more. The difference between Donglu and the rest of Daming is that it is clean and orderly.Chen Xinjia and Ji Shiwei have all been to Yongning City before, but the city in front of them is quite strange to them, and they feel like they have gone to the wrong place.

Two cabinet ministers, two governors, and many military officers will visit, and the residence is a problem.According to Wang Dou's arrangement with Bingbei Dao Ma Guoxi, Xue Guoguan, Yang Sichang, Chen Xinjia, Hong Chengchou, Ji Shiwei and others lived in the general's mansion.

The remaining generals or generals lived in the garrison hall, or in the Yongning Guard Command and Envoy Division.

After cleaning up the dust that night, on the second day, Yang Guozhu and Hu Dawei couldn't wait to ask to visit Wang Dou's military training, and everyone else was equally eager.

Regarding the visit of the officials and generals, Wang Dou had already discussed with the members of the shogunate, and he believed that showing his strength to everyone was beneficial and not harmful.

Now Shun Township's army is well-known all over the world, and the outside world knows its military strength. The visits from various towns at this time are proof that there is no need to hide many things.Taking advantage of this opportunity to show off one's own strength to the public can even intimidate all officials and generals, and gain a status and respect that matches one's own strength.

As for the possibility of the Shunxiang army’s military training methods being acquired by the outside world, Wang Dou didn’t care. The formation of his army was the perfection of a series of systems. Outsiders can only be dazzled by the sights, and it is difficult to understand the deep core.

It is more beneficial to Wang Dou to train troops according to the same pattern.With first-class civilization as the standard, if they train troops according to their own standards, with their own development speed, they will have to follow suit and be left far behind by their own Shunxiang army.

When it comes to the production of explosive soldiers, Wang Dou is not afraid of anyone.

Therefore, when Yang Guozhu and others proposed, Wang Dou had no objection. In response to the strong request of Xue Guoguan, Yang Sichang, Hong Chengchou and others, the visit arrangement for the past few days was from how the Shunxiang Army selected troops to how to drill, so that the brother troops could have a better understanding. A complete impression.

Afterwards, the general's office had to submit an official document, which was distributed by the Ministry of War to all armies in the world, and the nine sides took it as a formality.This is the result of Xue Guoguan's advice to Emperor Chongzhen.

The first stop of the visit was the recruiting point of the old Martial arts field in the east of the city. Among the accompanying crowd, Sun Chuanting was also by Hong Chengchou's side.

When he arrived on the East Road this time, he was extremely low-key, and he often didn't say a word for a long time, which was in stark contrast to his usual arrogant spirit.He looked around carefully from time to time, thinking about something, and then ordered an aide beside him to take a quick note.

In Wang Dou's impression, Sun Chuanting, like Lu Xiangsheng, was a man of poor political ability but quite capable of making decisions in battle, which was completely different from Yang Sichang.Yang Sichang's faction was fierce, and his strategy of praising paintings was not bad, but when it came to making decisions before the battle, it was a mess.

It seems that Sun Chuanting was deeply affected by the impact of losing his official position this time. Although the "big enemy" Yang Sichang was by his side, he didn't show any resentment, and often hid away alone, thinking about something silently.

Sun Chuanting is just a white man at the moment, maybe Yang Sichang has lost interest in dealing with him, so Sun Chuanting can follow this pedestrian to the East Road.Even if he wasn't with this group of people, anyway, since Sun Chuanting was a former governor, it would be no problem for him to travel all over the world in his capacity, and Wang Dou couldn't possibly refuse his arrival.

……

Xue Guoguan and others were extremely surprised by the crowds in the martial arts field in the east of the city. The recruitment was jointly carried out by Lin Daofu's training department and the generals of each new army.Since the General's Mansion is located in Yongning City, Lin Daofu's military training department has slowly moved to Yongning City.

At this time, it was Wu Zhengchun's New Army Division B that was recruiting troops. The first division had less than a thousand troops, and there were many veteran officers among them, so fewer recruits were needed.However, there are probably tens of thousands of people who gathered here to sign up, and there were several long queues lined up.

Those crowds queuing up like a tide only cared about when they would sign up, and didn't even care about the arrival of the officials and generals around them.

Such a grand occasion made the officials who watched by the side have different thoughts.Daming recruited soldiers elsewhere, except for some refugees and bums who were willing to pay and eat food, how could there be any innocent son who was willing to join the army?But here, there are a lot of people who want to join the army.

This kind of strong contrast makes everyone feel emotional.

Among the generals, some people speculated whether Wang Dou would cheat, but judging from the situation in front of him, it seemed impossible to cheat.

After standing for a while, the officials and generals first felt that the recruitment conditions of the Shunxiang Army can be described as harsh. There are several procedures for the selection of soldiers, with simple and strong as the first.There is also a strange recruitment condition, those with a family can join the army first.

Although those with special skills and strength can also be given priority to join the army, they are not the only ones. Many seemingly strong and powerful people have been rejected one after another.

These people were placed in various battalions of the Ming Dynasty, and they were always candidates for the main force and even servants, but here, they were discarded like trash, which made everyone feel sorry for themselves.

Zhang Guowei and Bingbei Dao Ma Guoxi's faces were a little ugly, they had already seen that some of the unsuccessful candidates seemed familiar, they seemed to be soldiers from their own battalion, they actually sneaked to Yongning City to join the Shunxiang Army?

Not only that, but the Shun Township Army dismissed these elite fighters in the battalion and eliminated them ruthlessly...

Xue Guoguan and Yang Sichang were also very surprised about the failure of those "good soldiers", so they asked Wangdou to ask them.

Wang Dou simply said a few words: "In field battles, it is important to form an orderly formation. It is useless to fight alone with thousands of people. Therefore, our Shun Township Army only uses honest people from the countryside. There are those who fail to be selected in the military, either slick or clever, these people are afraid of death when things happen, and they even insist on fighting, disturbing the morale of the army, and being selected into the army is harmful and not beneficial!"

"The armies of the Ming Dynasty are often defeated by one blow. They have accumulated arrogance and lack of fighting spirit, which is why the army is full of fuel! These people, no matter how brave they are, the last general will not stay! Ten thousand weak soldiers , not as good as a thousand elites."

Wang Dou's words were very straightforward, each general present had different expressions, Xue Guoguan just nodded, in fact he didn't understand very much in his heart, after all he didn't know much about military affairs.

However, Yang Guozhu, Hu Dawei, Wang Tingchen, Cao Bianjiao and others were deeply touched by Wang Dou's words. During the days when they fought side by side with Wang Dou, they had already deeply realized the harm of the army oil to the army. .

Wu Sangui also had a thoughtful look on his face, only Datong Town Chief Wang Pu didn't think so.

Seeing the different expressions of the people, Wang Dou didn't know how what he said just now would affect everyone.At this time, the Ming Dynasty became a warlord, and the leaders of each army paid attention to the large number of soldiers and the great momentum. In this way, the capital in their hands was thick, so that they could threaten all parties.

In order to attract soldiers, good and bad are inevitable, just like Zuo Liangyu later claimed to have a million soldiers, but after the Zuo's surrender to the Qing Dynasty, Dorgon verified that his troops had less than [-] soldiers.

But because of this huge momentum, it also brought Zuo Liangyu the capital to show off to all parties.No matter how angry Zuo Liangyu was, the Ming court would not dare to move him at all.

Perhaps for many military leaders, it doesn't matter if the soldiers are not good enough, as long as there are more soldiers.

Sun Chuanting stroked his bushy beard, and suddenly asked: "I heard that the army of Shun Township has no food and wages. How dare you ask General Wang, why are there so many recruits on the East Road? Can General Wang explain this to me? "

This issue was also the concern of Yang Guozhu and the others. After hearing what Sun Chuanting said, they agreed that they all turned their attention to Wang Dou.Wu Sangui and Jin Guofeng heard that the Shunxiang army had no food and pay, they were startled, and they also looked at Wang Dou.

Wang Dou glanced at Sun Chuanting, and saluted, "So it's Master Sun."

Sun Chuanting sighed: "This old man is guilty of a crime, so I dare not praise you so much. I would like to ask General Wang to clarify my doubts."

Wang Doulue pondered for a while, and said: "I value military households in the East Road, and the last general allows that the new army only needs to serve for five years, and all of them can be registered as military households in the East Road, so there are a lot of recruits."

Sun Chuanting stroked his beard and smiled and said, "After five years of joining the army, the new army can take [-] mu of land and distribute it to cattle and farm tools."

Wang Dou glanced at him: "Exactly."

Sun Chuanting pondered: "In this way, the army of General Dingguo is like the soldiers in the early Tang Dynasty, and the system of guards at the beginning of this dynasty. All the troops are young and strong, and they have the benefit of the fields. Like the arms and fingers, compared with the rest of the arrogant army, it is invincible."

Wang Dou said calmly: "It can be said like this."

Sun Chuanting's face showed excitement, and he told the staff beside him, "Remember what the old man and General Wang said just now."

Everyone was stunned, watching the staff behind him writing furiously.

Chen Xinjia and Ji Shiwei looked at each other, and they both saw the displeasure in each other's eyes.What a good Sun Baigu, how could he be so unscrupulous in inquiring about other people's military secrets?You don't want any basic official appearance, no wonder you were dismissed from office.

But then the two were shocked to see that Yang Guozhu and Hu Dawei both looked solemn, and they also whispered to the staff beside them to record something.Looking at the other side, the Liaodong generals were also whispering.Wang Tingchen and Cao Bianjiao got together and also ordered the staff behind them to write quickly.

Cao Bianjiao's general, Yang Shaofan, put a piece of paper into his arms more solemnly.

……

Afterwards, the whole group was a little silent, with different expressions on their faces, but there was a hint of excitement on their faces, as if they had obtained some secret treasure.

Wang Dou led them past the recruiting point and came to the other side of the martial arts arena. There gathered hundreds of young and strong soldiers, all of whom had just entered the new army of Shunxiang Army after thousands of selections.They couldn't suppress the joy on their faces as they listened to the temporary lectures given to them by the first few officers from Division B of the new army.

A man dressed as a soothing official shouted loudly: "Masters, after strict selection, you are very honored to be a member of our Shun Township Army. You must remember that you are my Ming Dynasty who is invincible and invincible." The subordinates of General Dingguo. Our army fought from Julu to Pinggu, and the slave chief Hongtai fled. In our army, there are only heroes who died in battle and went to Baozhong Temple. There are no cowards who run away. Who is afraid? You can get out now, our Shun Township Army will never keep you!"

Hearing what the officer said over there, Xue Guoguan and the others here were taken aback. How could the sergeant get out on his own initiative?Recruiting these good soldiers, why don't they provide them with food and drink?What the Shunxiang army did is really incomprehensible?

Only Wang Dou nodded slightly, the comforter's words were still very provocative, as expected, the faces of all the new soldiers over there were flushed and their blood boiled with enthusiasm.

"...Why do I call you princes? General Dingguo said that if you join our army, you will serve the country, protect the sage, and protect the peace of the world. Remember, you are not worthless Your humble little soldiers, you are gentlemen, gentlemen!"

The comfort officer continued to howl: "...becoming a member of our Shun Township Army means that you are admired by thousands of people on the East Road. We men are walking on the street. Which big girl and young wife don't take a look? Handkerchief sweat towel I can assure you that if you don’t have a daughter-in-law yet, once the news spreads that you have become a new army, the matchmaker will definitely step through the threshold, so don’t worry about not being able to give the bride price , because women who fall in love with you are willing to pay back."

There was a burst of laughter among the new army, and all of them straightened up their chests with arrogance.

The officers beside the comforting officer also burst into laughter, and all of them stood with their swords in high spirits.

The comfort officer also took himself as an example: "My old Li is like this. I was so poor back then, but not long after I became the Shun Township Army, I couldn't pick a woman. There are seven, Eight."

There was another burst of laughter, and Guo Yingxian beside Wang Dou also cracked his mouth and said to Hu Zichen next to him: "That brother's words are very interesting, we can meet each other."

Hu Zichen also said: "That's right, you can find him over for a drink."

Only Yang Guozhu, Hu Dawei and the others were thoughtful. After Sun Chuanting asked what the officer was doing, he stroked his beard for a while: "I am happy when I hear about the army, I am happy when I hear about the war, and the morale of the army is inspired. This appeasement officer seems to have a magical effect."

He said to Wang Dou: "The general calls the sergeant a gentleman, seems to have the intention of taking the six thousand of the gentleman from Goujian, the king of Yue?"

Wang Dou said: "Killing thieves for the country is a gentleman."

In fact, Wang Dou imitated the "Gentlemen's Battalion" established by the important minister Du Yinxi in Hongguangnian of Nanming. They were not called soldiers, but gentlemen, so as to enhance the army's sense of honor.

Sun Chuanting nodded and said: "With the benefits of the land, the respect of status, and the sense of honor, it's no wonder that the Shun Township army is invincible."

He asked again: "General Wang, on the East Road, are the sergeants really so admired by others that they don't have the slightest worry about getting a wife?"

Wang Dou said, "Yes."

Sun Chuanting also ordered the staff behind him to write down what he saw.

Wang Dou glanced at him and shook his head secretly.

Sun Chuanting was a governor at any rate, and Wang Dou couldn't accept such a student attitude in front of him.

Xue Guoguan and Yang Sichang are also pondering, they have also heard about the honor of the military households on the East Road. Taking Baoan Prefecture as an example, there used to be many civilian households in the prefecture, but now most of them secretly join the military households.Li Zhenyu, the magistrate of the prefecture, once wrote to the Ministry of Officials, saying that the number of private households in the prefectural city is getting rarer, and that Baoan prefecture may become a military prefecture soon.

The military households in other places in Ming Dynasty had to flee, how could they rush to join the military like Donglu?Emperor Chongzhen thought this was a good thing. The more people joined the military households, the more sources of soldiers the Ming Dynasty had, which could greatly reduce military expenses. However, this situation only happened under Wang Dou's rule, which inevitably made many people think differently.

The encouragement of the comforting officer over there has come to an end, he shouted: "Come into our Shun Township Army, this momentum is first-class, you all follow me and shout."

He stretched out a fist and howled: "I am Daming!"

"Long live!"

All the new troops present stretched out their hands and cheered.

The comfort officer stretched out two fists and shouted hoarsely: "General Dingguo!"

"Wan Sheng!"

"General Dingguo!"

"Wan Sheng!"

All the sergeants had fanatic expressions on their faces, feeling the envious and jealous eyes from the recruiting side, and all the new troops shouted with all their strength.

The appeasement officer waved his arms and opened them to both sides suddenly, his face entered a state of intoxication: "I am the Shun Township Army!"

"mighty!"

"I am the Shun Township Army!"

"mighty!"

Rhythmic shouts rang out, and following the sound, all the officials and generals around Wang Dou were silent, as if an unspeakable force rushed towards them. people fear.

But the new army of the Shunxiang army had such morale, and Wu Sangui, who had been observing quietly, also had a dignified expression on his face.

……

After leaving the martial arts arena, today's visit came to an end. Yang Guozhu asked what the role of the admonishing officer was, but Wang Dou, the chief general of each army, replied that he was a comforting officer.

He said: "A sergeant drills hard, and it is inevitable that he will feel resentful and desolate. The establishment of this officer is to relieve the knots in his heart, and it can also be used to stimulate the morale of the army."

Everyone was thoughtful, Wang Tingchen and Cao Bianjiao whispered to each other, they were all talking about setting up comfort officers in the army immediately after returning to Liaodong.

(End of this chapter)