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

Chapter 360
In November of the 12th year of Chongzhen.

The winter solstice is approaching, and the east road is full of joy, not only because this year's life is better than in previous years, but also because General Dingguo married Ji Junjiao, the righteous daughter of Confucianism in Baoanzhou, which adds a bit of joy to this festival.

Ji Junjiao is the daughter of Ji Shiwei, the governor of Xuanfu Town. This is a matter of tacit understanding. Of course, no one would foolishly pierce this layer of window paper.

The affairs of General Dingguo are everyone's affairs, and the people on the East Road want to take this opportunity to express their feelings.On the wedding day, there were so many guests that it was very lively.There are officials and generals everywhere, and even many cabinet ministers in the court sent congratulatory gifts.

At this time, Wang Dou was in Bao'an Prefecture, and as the guard of the East Road, he could handle the garrison flexibly. He moved to Yongning in autumn and winter, and he could return to Bao'an Prefecture at other times.A few days after getting married, he lived a few days of warmth, fragrance and soft jade.

Naturally, Ji Shiwei, his wife Chu Shi, and his eldest son Ji Boqing and others attended the wedding, although they came under other names.

Seeing his daughter marrying Wang Dou with a happy face, Ji Shiwei was comforted and also sad.A dignified governor's daughter can only marry Wang Dou in this way. In front of outsiders, her daughter can only call others her father.Bearing the burden of humiliation, just to pull Wang Dou into his own chariot.

But his daughter finally got married, and Ji Shiwei let go of his worries.

In fact, when Junjiao escaped from marriage and came to Baoan Prefecture, she was an unmarried virgin, she immediately had a relationship with Wang Dou, and she openly lived together as an unmarried woman, which naturally attracted a lot of gossip.Now that she is married, her name is justified, and she can be regarded as blocking the mouth of the world.

It's good that Ji Shiwei came, Weng and his son-in-law happened to discuss some things.

A few days after their marriage, Wang Dou accidentally received news that Li Zhentong, the magistrate of Baoan Prefecture, would be transferred to another place due to his outstanding political achievements.

He was promoted and transferred to Guide Mansion as the magistrate.

As for Baoan Prefecture, it was also changed from Minzhou to Junzhou. After a large-scale relocation of local households, there are not many households. It is meaningless to set up civil affairs officials.After the report was approved by the imperial court, Baoan Prefecture was renamed Baoan Zuowei, and only guards were set up.

At the same time, Wang Dou also got another news from the residence newspaper. In October of this year, the Qing army attacked Ningyuan again. At that time, Ningyuan had tens of thousands of soldiers, but the soldiers were timid and no one dared to fight.Jin Guofeng, the commander-in-chief of the Ningyuan regiment, was furious, and led his two sons and dozens of Ding out to fight hard against the Qing soldiers at Beishangang, and all died in battle.

After receiving this news, Wang Dou was silent for a long time. He still couldn't change Jin Guofeng's fate. Thinking of the encounter with him a few months ago, he couldn't help feeling sad.

As early as in Yongning, although Wang Dou reminded Jin Guofeng and made Hong Chengchou think about it, but time was running out, and soon after Jin Guofeng returned to Ningyuan, the Qing soldiers invaded.His fate cannot be changed in the end.

There is also a message from Hong Chengchou in the mansion newspaper: there are many camps and troops in Ningyuan, and the power is in control. Please order military affairs to be controlled by the general officer.This is also the case where the military supervisors, governors, guards and other officials are in the same city.In view of Jin Guofeng's matter, Emperor Chongzhen agreed to Hong Chengchou's request.

Perhaps, this invitation will be a good thing for Wang Dou in the future.

In December, when Li Zhenzhen left office, there were many people who saw him off, including Wang Dou.

The chariots and horses of Li's residence left the city gate, Li Zhenzhen got out of the car, and bid farewell to Wang Dou and the crowd: "I am grateful to see you off if I have to help you, so the general will stay here."

Wang Dou took a glass of wine from the guard next to him: "Send you a thousand miles, and there will be a farewell. Master Li, please drink this glass to the brim. Your trip will be smooth."

Li Zhenyu took the wine glass, drank it down, looked back at the city with emotion for a long time, and sighed: "Confucius said to achieve benevolence, Meng said to obtain righteousness, what is the purpose of reading sage books? After several years in Baoan Prefecture, the next official finally understands." .”

He cupped his hands to Wang Dou and said, "General, take care."

Wang Dou replied: "My lord, take care."

Li Zhenyu laughed and got on the carriage.

On the other side, Ji Junjiao and the young lady were also saying goodbye.

"Sister, I can't bear you."

Ji Junjiao cried while holding the young husband's hand.At this time, she was wearing bijia and mink fur coat, like flowers and jade, and the charming and glamorous radiance after the wedding was even more captivating.The young lady is still wearing a dark purple gown, and the grace and charm of a young woman will not be lost to her.

Seeing Ji Junjiao like this, the young lady sighed softly: "Sister, I don't want to part with you either. I will come to Baoanzhou to see you when I have free time."

In the end, the two still separated, the young lady looked at Wang Dou, and bowed in a bow: "This is my farewell, the general cherishes it."

Wang Dou returned the salute: "Madam cherishes it."

Li's family drove away, and Wang Dou was also a little bit reluctant. Wang Dou had a bad impression of Li Zhenzhen in the early days. Although he was ambitious, he liked empty talk.But after getting along for several years, Wang Dou's impression of him has changed somewhat. At least he still has a heart for the country and the people, and he has done a lot of practical things for the people, which is worthy of respect.

He pondered for a long time, thinking silently in his heart: "Guide Mansion..."

……

Time flies, and it is the first day of September in the 13th year of Chongzhen in the blink of an eye.

In September, the air was crisp and clear, and Yongning City became more and more lively. On the road from West Street to the Fen Shou General's Mansion, a procession of horses and horses came along.Seeing the guard of honor from a distance, the people on the street gave way consciously.Many people even bowed to the chariots and horses, their eyes full of respect.

"Madam is going to help the victims again. General Dingguo and Madam are here. It's truly Buddha of all families."

After the carriages and horses pass by, there are always the voices of the people on the street from the bottom of their hearts.

Not long after, the guard of honor on the bridge stopped in front of the general's mansion, and Xie Xiuniang got off the horse.

As the royal wife, Wang Dou's wife, Xie Xiuniang enjoys the same pomp and ceremonies as Wang Dou. At this time, she is wearing a formal attire, a golden crown on her head, and a calm smile on her face.Surrounded by the maids, that kind of grace cannot be concealed no matter what.

A few months ago, Xie Xiuniang gave birth to another daughter for Wang Dou, her figure became more plump and dignified, and there seemed to be a gentleness like water in her gaze.

She got out of the carriage, her gait was neither slow nor hurried, and her manner was quite elegant.This is the result of her asking Ji Junjiao for a series of manners and manners, and practicing hard herself.Of course, her demeanor cannot be compared with Ji Junjiao.However, Ji Junjiao couldn't compare her identity and Wang Dou's mutual affection.

After entering the mansion, all the members of the walking shogunate greeted Xie Xiuniang respectfully when they saw Xie Xiuniang, and Xie Xiuniang always returned the salute meticulously.

Watching Xie Xiuniang pass by, many people in the mansion showed respectful expressions.

Gao ordered his wife to help the victims on the East Road and take care of women and children. She has always been known as a loving mother among the people. Among the tablets set up in many people's homes, Xie Xiuniang stands side by side with the king.For the members of the shogunate, Mrs. Gao Ming has a generous temperament, and all members of the government have received Xie Xiuniang's kindness.

To Wang Dou and Xie Xiuniang, everyone on the East Road respects them in their hearts.

Entering the backyard of the mansion, Wang Dou's mother, Mrs. Zhong Shi, was talking to Ji Junjiao, Liu Qing, Liu Ji, Butterfly, and Dragonfly.

Considering the actual situation, according to the new military regulations of the Shunxiang Army, the generals of the Shunxiang Army who are in Yongning City can move their family members and distribute them to the house.After marrying Ji Junjiao last year, when Wang Dou returned to Yongning City, the old Wang family followed him and lived in the General's Mansion.

At this time, Ji Junjiao's five daughters were holding a child in their arms, including a boy and a girl.Last month, Ji Junjiao gave birth to a daughter for Wang Dou, which disappointed her. Ji Junjiao always wanted a son.But Wang Dou was still very happy and named his daughter Wang Shame.

After several years of following Wang Dou, Liu Qing and Liu Ji also had children, Liu Ji even gave birth to two sons, and Liu Qing had a son and a daughter.

Ji Junjiao originally had two personal maids, Butterfly and Dragonfly, they came with Ji Junjiao to be housemaids, and because they gave birth to children for Wang Dou, they were all raised as concubines.

As for Xie Xiuniang's daughter who was born a few months ago, named Wang Wan, she is now in Zhong's arms.

In this way, Wang Dou now has a total of nine children, but this era has a high mortality rate, so they must be carefully raised.

Seeing Mrs. Zhong, Xie Xiuniang bowed to Mrs. Zhong, and Mrs. Zhong was a little helpless, and said: "I said daughter-in-law, don't be so formal in this house."

Xie Xiuniang said seriously: "Mother-in-law, this is not acceptable. If it is out of courtesy and passed on, people will laugh at my husband."

Mrs. Zhong sighed, her own daughter-in-law had worked so hard for her son.

After Xie Xiuniang sat down, Mrs. Zhong asked something: "My grandson has been going to the martial arts hall for several months, and I don't know if it is hard or not. Alas, there is no news."

Last year, the Martial Arts Hall had been set up to train military officers, and the children of all military officers would also be sent to the inner school to study.There are strict regulations in the military academy, which implements semi-closed education, and people are not allowed to come out at leisure, and outsiders are not allowed to enter casually.

Although Wang Zheng is Wang Dou's son, he is no exception, and he must also implement strict teaching and training.Once Zhong missed his grandson and secretly took Wang Zheng back for a few days. Wang Zheng was immediately scolded by Wang Dou, which was a punishment.

After this incident, the Zhong family no longer dared to mention the matter of his grandson, General Dingguo did the same, no matter how concerned other officers were, they had to abide by the discipline of the military academy.

Although Xie Xiuniang is also very concerned about her son, she is a woman who centers on Wang Dou in everything, and she will do whatever Wang Dou says.

Hearing what the mother-in-law said, she said: "My husband said that if you don't cut a jade, you can't make a weapon. If your children don't teach them strictly, they will grow up to be dudes and lose face to our Shun army. What your husband said is always reasonable, mother-in-law Don't worry."

Ji Junjiao hugged her daughter and let out a chuckle: "Sister, you dote on our General Dingguo too much."

Xie Xiuniang opened her eyes wide: "Sister, I don't read much, but what my husband said makes sense."

Zhong looked at the sky and said, "It's almost noon, why is the brat still not off work? Waiting for him to eat."

"Smelly boy" is only qualified to say by Zhong, but the word "off work" was also "invented" by Wang Dou, and it became a trend in Wang Dou's system.

Xie Xiuniang said: "My husband may be worried about the famine. I went to see those victims. It's really pitiful."

Ji Junjiao said, "Sister, do you want to go this afternoon? I'll go with you."

Xie Xiuniang persuaded, "Sister, you just finished confinement, and you still need to rest and rest, so it's inconvenient to move around."

Ji Junjiao said it's okay, she's been confinement for almost a month, and she's too busy to panic.

Zhong sighed: "Da Ming's disaster after disaster, when will it end?"

……

"The matter of dispatching troops is imminent. Five days after the Double Ninth Festival, our Shun Township Army will dispatch troops!"

In the meeting hall of the General's Mansion, when Wang Dou said these words, all the generals present became excited.

That's right, the Ministry of War has a series of official documents, and the matter of dispatching troops can no longer be delayed.

Time passed quickly, and it was September of the 13th year of Chongzhen.

During this year, many things happened. First of all, Chen Xinjia, the former governor of Xuanda, finally entered the cabinet at the beginning of the year and took the post of Minister of the Ministry of War.Originally, Wang Dou thought that after Chen Xinjia left, his father-in-law Ji Shiwei would be the governor of Xuanda. Unexpectedly, as a result of the cabinet's deliberations, Zhang Fuzhen, the governor of Yansui, was transferred to be the governor of Xuanda.

This made Ji Shiwei feel lost for a long time.

For Wang Dou, there was another very important matter. According to his understanding of history, since May, the Qing soldiers had gradually laid siege to Jinzhou.

The results of the siege by the Qing soldiers in the early days were limited. When Dorgon was implementing the siege plan, the soldiers and civilians in the city could still go out to hunt, transport military supplies, and travel freely.This made Huang Taiji extremely dissatisfied. He demoted Dorgon to the title of county king, fined him 1 taels of silver, seized two cattle to register his household, and sent Jierhalang to replace him.

After Jierhalang arrived, he set up eight camps on each side of Jinzhou City, dug long trenches five or six miles along the city, set up crenels along the trenches, and sent soldiers to patrol and surround Yimi.

Facing the situation of the Qing soldiers, Hong Chengchou, governor of Jiliao, figured out that the Qing soldiers were repeating the old tactics of Dalinghe tactics, and actively responded.He vigorously stockpiled grain in Jinzhou, Xingshan, Ningyuan and other places, and each place had at least half a year's grain for the defenders.

After entering September, the number of Qing troops besieging Jinzhou reached 6 to [-], including two Lifang camps and two Chang camps, and no less than forty Hongyi cannons were transported.Especially the several long trenches excavated around Jinzhou are deep and dense, with a complex structure, just like the trench warfare repeated in Liaodong during the First World War.

At this time, perhaps only Wang Dou in the entire Ming Dynasty knew that in the Jinzhou area soon, a tragic war would break out concerning the fate of the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

In August, Xue Guoguan was indeed deprived of his post and released, impeached for corruption and bribery, and arrested and sent to Beijing.The Xue clan went through a big purge, but to everyone's surprise, Ma Guoxi, the Huailong soldier in Xuanfu Town, was safe and sound. Because of his outstanding civil affairs in Donglu, he got excellent grades in examinations and was specially rewarded by Emperor Chongzhen.

Also in August, Yang Sichang personally entered Sichuan to supervise the battle and continued to kill Zhang Xianzhong and others.

Yang Sichang was very happy after the officers and soldiers defeated Zhang Xianzhong at Manao Mountain in March this year.However, the officers and soldiers suffered successive defeats in the following months, so Yang Sichang had to go to Sichuan to supervise the battle in person.

He also went to the court to plead guilty, but blamed the failure of the encirclement and suppression on the uselessness of the Sichuan soldiers and the noise of the Qin army's salary.In the end, Shao Jiechun, the governor of Sichuan, was dismissed from his post and arrested for questioning, and abandoned the city for his crimes. Zheng Chongjian, the governor of Shaanxi, was also dismissed and replaced by Ding Qirui.

The more this time came, the more Yang Sichang felt the anguish of not having a confidant general around him, and the more he looked forward to Wang Dou's arrival.His two generals, Zuo Liangyu and He Renlong, were extremely arrogant, and they didn't take their deployment seriously, and he wrote letters to Zuo Liangyu himself, but he dismissed them, which led to successive failures in the encirclement and suppression campaign.

From last year to the first half of this year, due to the optimistic battle situation, Yang Sichang felt that it might be okay without Wang Dou. Now it seems that only Wang Dou can turn the tide.

He sent letters to the imperial court several times, asking the Ministry of War to send Wang Dou to send troops immediately. Faced with a series of official documents urging him, Wang Dou also knew that the dispatch of troops could not be delayed any longer.

In fact, he delayed sending troops until now for various reasons, and he also has his plans.In the land of four states, the sky is high and the roads are far away. From Baoanzhou to there, there may be four or five thousand miles.Not to mention the logistics, it is the problem of acclimatization. My Shun Township army is all soldiers from the north. When I first arrived in the south, I am afraid that there will be a huge non-combat attrition.

Entering the four prefectures did not conform to Wang Dou's strategic layout. It was just right to send troops now. When they arrived in Henan, Li Zicheng happened to be making a big fuss there again, and Zhang Xianzhong would arrive soon.To save Wang Dou from traveling all the way to Sichuan.The Qianli Plain in Zhongzhou is also suitable for the Shunxiang Army to fight.

The Shun Township Army has always been active in going to battle, everyone wants to go to battle, Wang Dou is still considering which generals to choose for the battle.

In addition, there are still many civil affairs that need to be dealt with. Wang Dou summoned all the members of the shogunate to discuss, mainly because of what Zhong just said.

Yes, famine, a large-scale famine has swept across the land of Daming again. Since the second half of last year, there has been no rain in Jifu, Shandong, Henan, Shanxi, and Shaanxi of the Ming Dynasty. A bucket of rice costs thousands of dollars, and the people peel bark and sawdust They eat chaff and chaff, or dig the white mud from the mountains to eat. When you look at the village, the bark of the trees is peeled off, and hungry corpses are everywhere.

After the severe drought, migratory locusts cover the sky, and where they gather, the seedlings and reeds are all gone.

Misfortunes never come singly, there is a severe drought in the north and floods in the south.

In May of this year, Suzhou, Songjiang, Huzhou and other prefectures poured heavy rain day and night, the floods were raging, countless houses were dumped, and Doumi jumped to three or four coins.

Following the catastrophe came another plague, and more than half of the people who were lucky enough to survive died again. Not a few whole villages, whole towns, and whole cities died.

Drought and locust plagues are also rampant on the east road. Wang Dou's army camps rely on deep water irrigation wells, and the drought has little impact, but the migratory locusts that cover the sky also cause heavy losses to all the villages under his rule, especially those old military households and old civilians. household.

Fortunately, in the past two years, many chicken farms and duck farms have been opened on the East Road. The spectacle of military households driving tens of thousands of chickens and ducks to eat locusts has attracted many scholars to talk about it.

Not only that, Wang Dou also made a shocking move, mobilizing the soldiers and civilians to eat locusts. He took the lead, and the officers led the soldiers under his command to fry, fry and roast. Countless locusts turned into dishes and entered the mouths of the people. .

Although some people worry that this move will offend the "Locust God", but Wang Dou has taken the lead, and the same is true for Bingbeidao Ma Guoxi. What else do the people have to say?They followed suit one after another, and not long after, the locusts in the East Road were eaten up by Wang Dou and others.

Needless to say, the protein content of locusts is still very high. After eating locusts for a long time, people look even more radiant and strong.Cooking locusts has gradually become one of the specialties of the cities along the East Road. Some merchants even catch locusts everywhere and transport them for sale.

As for the plague, after the clean-up campaign in the cities on the East Road, many sources of the outbreak of the plague have been lost. In addition, the intelligence department has obtained "Jingyue Quanshu" from Jiangnan, which contains even more information on the treatment and defense of various plagues. Many medical departments in various states and cities are also the objects of Wang Dou's strong support, and the number of doctors has increased rapidly.

So so far, no plague has occurred in the East Road.

Also because of this, the peaceful and happy East Road has become a place of peach blossoms yearned for by victims from all over the world, and there is a constant influx of victims every day.

These disaster victims brought heavy pressure to Wang Dou.

(End of this chapter)