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

Chapter 521 Heroic King

In the past few days, Wang Dou has been inspecting the terrain of Xiaolinghe, and at this time he has a plan in mind.

When turning back to the camp of the Jingbian army, I saw that there were a lot of vehicles and horses transporting supplies, food and fodder to the camp along the way, especially drinking water.

Generally, when a large army is on an expedition, apart from food and grass, there is another extremely important point, which is the drinking water for the large army.

According to the needs of the human body, a person needs at least ten liters of water a day, and mules and horses need thirty liters. Extreme conditions can be reduced by half, but it will inevitably affect the combat effectiveness of the army.With an army of more than ten thousand, the amount of water needed for a day is really astronomical.

Fortunately, the army occupied Huangtu Ridge at this time. Not far to the southeast of the mountain is the Xiaoling River, and the terrain to the south is flat, and there are also many rivers. In the past, this place was a place where the Tunbao fields near Songshan were relatively dense, and it was no problem to supply the army with drinking water.

There is a huge city built on Ruoping. If you look at Huangtuling at this time, it is densely packed with Ming army camps.

Now there are Wang Doujing's Frontier Army, Yang Guozhu's Xuanzhen Army, Wang Pu Datong's Army, Fu Yingchong's Jingying Army, Li Fuming's Shanxi Army, and Wu Sangui and Zuo Guangxian's soldiers and horses in Songshanling in the southwest.

Nearly [-] troops hovered over the mountains and plains in this area, and as far as the eye could see, there were camp flags like an ocean, and Diao Dou arrow towers were densely lined up.

And so many army horses needed a huge amount of food and grass, which made Liaodong Governor Qiu Minyang, who was in charge of food supply, overwhelmed.

Due to the tight supply of grain and grass, the Ming army on the front line of Liaodong generally only received grain and grass once every five to ten days, and each time it was only about a few hundred shi.

Of course, this is not enough. In the era of lack of oil and water, young and strong men are especially good at eating. It is normal to eat one liter of rice a day, which is two catties.If the rice is made into rice, it will cost at least four catties, but some people can even eat it in one meal.

Horses also need three liters of forage. Considering an army of 1 men and horses, they need at least two hundred shi of grain and grass a day.

Because the Jingbian army had a lot of meat, the food intake of each soldier decreased slightly. One and a half liters of rice per day was enough. However, due to the increase in horses, the overall amount of food and grass was not much.

In this expedition to Liaodong, Wang Dou's army had more than [-] horses and mules, and the fodder needed more than [-] shi a day. Counting the men and horses, they needed nearly [-] shi a day.

Around the supply of food and grass, a lot of filth has been generated among the various officers and officers of the army.

He needed so much food and fodder for the expedition. Although he brought some food and fodder with the army, Wang Dou tried his best to get the local government to supply it. As a last resort, he used the food, rice and fodder brought by his own supply camp.

Intimidated by the prestige of the Jingbian Army and Wang Dou's ferocity, the gentry of the Liaodong household department in charge of food and grass, and the judges did not dare to neglect too much.

Coupled with the attention of Hong Chengchou, governor of Jiliao, Qiu Minyang, governor of Liaodong, Zhang Ruoqi, Wang Chengen and others, they are afraid that this powerful army will make trouble and cause unmanageable consequences, so the supply of food and grass for the Jingbian army is a priority. .

But even so, the food and grass that the supply battalion received each time could not meet the needs of the Jingbian army. Once every five days, the Jingbian army needed about two thousand shi for food and grass, and each time they only received [-] shi for food and grass, or It is a thousand stones, but only [-]% of the demand is received, and sometimes even when the food and grass are tight, only about [-]% is received.

Wang Dou knew that the front line was short of food and grass, and it was not easy to get [-]% to [-]% of the demand each time, so he used the old method to buy the remaining shortfall with silver.

During this expedition to Liaodong, he brought 10 taels of silver.

There is a lot of gold and silver in the warehouse on the East Road, and it has not been used much.

At present, food coupons are widely used on the East Road. Because of the increase in credit, less and less grain and rice are exchanged. Gold and silver are piled up in the warehouse to accumulate dust. They can be used and replaced with the food and grass needed by the soldiers. Dou is still happy.

In fact, these officials of the household department are all arrogant, and they are not affiliated with the local military and political system. Colleagues of the same name, governor of Liaodong Qiu Minyang, military guard Zhang Dou and others, they can't control them.

Of course, although they were arrogant, they were still kind in front of the white money. Every time the officials of the supply camp went to buy grain and grass from them, they all greeted them with smiles.Obviously, when the war is over, a large part of the silver carried by Wang Dou will be spent.

But Wang Dou didn't take it seriously, money is called silver only when it is spent, and it is called Poshi if it is not spent.And because of the dried fish, the cost of this battle can be quickly earned back. In the future, it will be promoted and expanded. The dried fish alone will add a lot of money to Donglu.

……

Along the way, there was a constant stream of vehicles and horses coming and going. When he arrived outside the Jingbian military camp, Wang Dou also saw many merchants staying here with different accents. It was very lively, like a market.These are all caravans from various places who came to trade with the Jingbian army.

The treatment of the Jingbian Army is generous. Their food supply is divided according to the difference between the first-class army and the second-class army. Each person has a fixed amount of rice (or flatbread noodles), meat, vegetables, salt, soy sauce, and seasonings every day. , and even a certain amount of tea, sugar, and tobacco supply.

Due to the increase of livestock farms on the East Road, when the army is stationed, a certain amount of milk is also supplied.

The treatment of sergeants in Jingbian, not to mention in Daming, is also second to none in Donglu.So after Wang Dou's rise, although it showed that there were people poaching people secretly, no one was willing to leave the Jingbian army just because of the food and treatment.

Because the supply of soldiers is rich and varied, the supply battalion needs to go out frequently to purchase, and each purchase is in large quantities. Seeing business opportunities, many caravans gather here to sell all kinds of goods they bring to the supply soldiers of the Jingbian Army. products.

Of course, unlike other Ming army camps, merchants could come in and out of the camp. In the Jingbian Army camp, no one was allowed to approach within [-] paces, or they would be killed.The closest to the military camp are the caravans on the East Road, and merchants from other places usually gather within one mile to form a market.

Among the market crowd, there are many local military households, especially many military households in Tunbao who went southeast from the Niangniang Palace.

Because the army blocked the attack and infiltration of the Tartars, those military households who fled to Songshan and Xingshan returned to their hometowns one after another, and stepped up to resume production.

After seeing the business opportunity, they also took the opportunity to sell their various local products, and they were sold out every time.If you bring vegetables and the like, it is more popular, and all kinds of seafood, such as dried kelp, are also welcome.

In Liaodong, due to frequent wars and a lot of silver and little food, inflation was severe and prices were very high.However, the soldiers of the Jingbian Army who went out to purchase never paid on credit, let alone defaulted on it. Every time they traded in cash, they were extremely proud, which is really well-known.

The consequence of this is that more and more caravans gather outside the military camps, and more and more local military households sell goods.

In addition, the opening of a large number of dried fish workshops requires a lot of manpower. Many laborers who have transported grain for thousands of miles also decided to stay and work here to make money. As a result, there are many markets in the south of Huangtuling to the sea, forming a strange prosperity.

Seeing the caravans gathering outside the barracks, Zhong Xian curled his lips, and finally said: "If it wasn't for the war, the last general would have thought he had come to Yongning City? These merchants, in order to earn money, are really daring. Not afraid of death at all."

Wang Dou was also quite moved. A great battle between the Ming and Qing Dynasties, where tens of thousands of people fought to the death, turned into a huge business opportunity among merchant caravans. No matter how the times change, merchants will never lose.

He said with emotion: "It's normal. The prosperity of the world is all for profit, and the world is full of hustle and bustle for profit. Especially businessmen, it is their nature to seek profit. At present, many places in Ming Dynasty cannot do without them."

At this time, the merchants of the Ming Dynasty were powerful. In the border towns of the Ming Dynasty, most of the food and grass for the frontier army were supplied and transported by the merchants. Every time there was a war, their shadows could be seen.

The same was true in the West at this time. The Holy Roman Empire went to battle with an army of 3 troops and 14 entourages.

Wang Dou finally concluded: "From ancient times to the present, businessmen and capital have been like this. Once there is an appropriate profit, they will be bold. If there is a 20.00% profit, the capital is guaranteed to be used everywhere. With 50.00% If there is a profit of [-]%, it will be active. If there is a profit of [-]%, it will take risks. For a profit of [-]%, it will dare to trample on all human laws. If there is a profit of [-]%, it will dare to commit any crime. Even at the risk of hanging his head!"

All the generals were shocked, the general's words really vividly portrayed the nature of a businessman, he deserved to be possessed by a god and man, and the stars descended from the sky.

Everyone became more determined to follow, Zhong Xiancai's eyes sparkled, and he muttered something, repeating what Wang Dou said just now.

The more Qin Yi thinks about Wang Dou's words, the more he feels the profound meaning in them, and he can't help but admire deeply: "The words of the general are really good words of gold and jade, full of the essence of Taoism."

Every time he came into contact with Wang Dou, Qin Yiyue felt that Wang Dou was mysterious. He had carefully studied Wang Dou's body, except that his ancestor was from the Qi family army, everything else was ordinary, and he had no higher education. Why was he suddenly so dazzling?As far as his eyes can see, it seems to span thousands of years in the previous life and thousands of years in the future. He has never seen the foresight in others.

Qin Yi was born in reading books of sages and sages, and believed in the strange gods of the child without speech and power, but with Wang Dou, this point was deeply broken.Apart from the explanation that XingXiu descended to earth, suddenly enlightened, and awakened past life memories, Qin Yi couldn't find any other explanation.

He thought to himself: "The sage said, every time the world is in trouble, when people are dying, there will always be a hero and king. Is this the general?"

……

Back at the camp, it was nearly noon, Wang Dou ordered the meal to be served, and the firemen and guards in the command tent brought the food one by one, and everyone gathered around a table to eat.

The generals of the Jingbian Army, except Sun Sanjie who was at Changling Mountain at this time, Zhong Tiaoyang of the Chinese Army, General Han Chao, Zhong Xiancai, Li Guangheng, Wen Daxing, Zhao Xuan, Zhenfu Chi Dacheng, Chief Medical Officer Wang Tianxue were all at the table, and Qin Yi, who praised the painting, was more and more appreciated by Wang Dou because of his outstanding performance, and he was also included in it.

The meals are still very rich, including roasted whole lamb, large pieces of pork and beef, large plates of various fresh fish, fresh seaweed fish soup, some fresh vegetables and so on.

There are mostly fish and seafood on the table, and now a large amount of fresh fish is transported outside the military camp every day and bought by the supply camp.Money can turn ghosts around, as long as the Jingbian army spends money, there are plenty of merchants and fishermen willing to serve it.

As for silver, now Wang Dou is the least lacking.

The staple food includes big buckets of rice, and noodles and pancakes. To be honest, although Wang Dou has been in Ming Dynasty for many years, he still likes to eat rice. Except for supper, he doesn't like noodles as a staple food.

"Starved to death, starved to death."

Zhao Xuan ate like a rat, he didn't have a cold for seafood, he only served mutton, pork and beef.

Li Guangheng and Wen Daxing also ate rather rudely, and drank glasses of wine.

Both of them are quite good at drinking, but they are not allowed to drink too much when they are out on an expedition, so the alcohol they drink is relatively light, and they don't drink much.Wang Tianxue used to be an alcoholic, but he has served in the army for many years and has become a lot more temperate. However, he must drink alcohol at every meal, and he can skip meals and drink alcohol.

Compared to the rudeness of the two, he was much slower, shaking his head while drinking.

Han Chao sat upright and ate slowly, with the rigorous style of a general, and Zhong Tiaoyang beside him was also calm and reticent.

Wang Dou took a spoonful of soup, drank it into his mouth, nodded and said, "This fish soup is not bad, very delicious."

He said: "Eat the mountains by the mountains, and eat the sea by the sea. The sea is rich in all kinds of fish. It's a pity that they can't be preserved for a long time, otherwise the fishermen wouldn't be so poor."

Qin Yi stopped chopsticks and smiled and said, "Now that the general presents the technique of dried fish, sea fish can be preserved for a long time. If it is popularized, the lives of fishermen will be much better in the future."

Everyone nodded, and Zhong Xian tasted the fish soup and found it delicious. He said: "Speaking of dried fish, in the past in Weizhou, there was also a kind of dried fish in his hometown. After pickling, hang it in the kitchen to dry, and put it in a soup bottle when eating. Slowly simmered, the taste is very delicious when cooked, with a unique flavor."

Zhong Xiancai looked at Wang Dou: "If the general likes it, one day I will cook in person and present a dish for the general."

Wang Dou was a little surprised, and said with a smile, "I didn't expect to be talented and also good at cooking."

Zhao Xuan was eating together, dripping with juice, and said vaguely: "A gentleman is far away from the cook, Brother Zhong, you are such a good man, how can anyone cook by himself?"

Wang Tianxue also stroked his beard, shook his head and said, "Of course, what General Zhao said is very close to my heart. Although General Zhong is full of heart, he only needs to tell the method of making it and let someone cook it. I have to say , General Zhong, this is what a woman said."

Qin Yi shook his head. He had to say that although Wang Tianxue and he were from the same background as a literati, Wang Tianxue's stinking mouth could easily offend people unconsciously.

Zhong Xiancai looked at Wang Dou, then at Zhao Xuan and Wang Tianxue, his fair face flushed red, he argued, "Why is it a woman's talk...why, you two look down on women? Hua Mulan, wash Madam and the others are also women."

Zhong Xiancai snorted even more, and raised his fist: "Your mother is also a woman, Xiao Xuan'er, if you say that, it is very unfilial."

Everyone looked at Zhong Xiancai, as if he was in a hurry. On weekdays, Zhong Xiancai had a shy and gentle personality, but sometimes he was very aggressive, especially in front of the general, showing his aggressive side.

Wang Dou took a closer look at Zhong Xiancai, then saw several people quarreling, smiled, and said, "How about this, after the meal you all make some gestures, and whoever wins will be considered to be right."

Zhong Xiancai clenched his fists and said triumphantly, "Xiao Xuan'er, Doctor Wang, do you want to make some gestures?"

Zhao Xuan and Wang Tianxue were dumbfounded, Zhong Xian had just fought from a small soldier to a general, and was even a high-class skilled sergeant, Zhao Xuan was a technical nerd, Wang Tianxue was powerless, who was his opponent?Everyone looked around and talked about him, Zhao Xuan said: "A gentleman uses his mouth but not his hands."

Wang Tianxue also coughed and said, "Of course, General Zhao's words are very close to my heart. I have read the books of sages and sages. How can I fight with others? It's really insulting."

Everyone laughed, and Zhao Xuan and Wang Tianxue were even more embarrassed. Zhao Xuan changed the subject and said suddenly: "General, you said that if the general will use a lot of silk, what do you think?"

Everyone was surprised, what did Zhao Xuan suddenly want a lot of silk for?
Han Chao joked: "What? Brother Zhao, what kind of wedding is going to happen, marry a wife or take a concubine, I remember you already have a wife."

Everyone snickered, Zhao Xuan waved his hands again and again, just said: "Do you remember the medicine bag in the artillery camp? The general accidentally discovered that silk is more flammable than cotton cloth. If you use silk medicine bag instead, the barrel of the gun will not be overheated, and it can greatly speed up the firing rate of the cannon." During the reloading process, maybe five shots were fired to dissipate heat in the past, but now at least ten shots can be fired."

Everyone was moved, and Wang Dou was also moved in his heart. When Zhao Xuan said this, he also recalled some information from later generations.

It seems that the artillery team at that time used silk pouches, which really prevented the gun bore from overheating.The gunners of the Jingbian Army have reached their peak personal skills, and what restricts the firing speed of the artillery is the heat dissipation of the barrel.

And when Zhao Xuan said this, he also thought of the catheter of the fire door medicine, did later generations use a goose feather tube or a chicken feather tube?It can avoid the stagnation of the leading rope, and the problems of powdered medicine being blown away by the wind.

While Wang Dou was pondering, the generals were discussing and arguing, regardless of whether the silk medicine bag is feasible or not, but it will cost a lot.The Artillery Army is a costly unit. It costs a lot of money to train gunners and manufacture artillery. Now there is a lot of expensive silk to be burned. One can imagine how huge the cost will be then?
Wang Dou pondered for a long time. Although the silk medicine pack was expensive, it represented the development direction of the artillery in the future. The Jingbian Army was at the forefront of the times. In order to win and reduce the casualties of the army, it should be invested.

Thinking of this, facing Zhao Xuan's expectant eyes, Wang Dou said: "Let's go to some silk merchants to order a batch of silk first, and test and train in advance. If it is really effective, all the medicine bags in the artillery camp will use silk medicine bags in the future. "

When Zhao Xuan was overjoyed, Wang Dou said again: "Also, you can find some goose feather tubes or chicken feather tubes for the fire gate primer of the artillery, and try to see if they can be used as fire gate conduits."

Zhao Xuan slapped his thigh and shouted: "Wonderful, the general and the general want to go together. The general has been thinking about the material of the fire door conduit, whether it should be straight or flammable, but he has never thought of goose quills or chicken feathers. , this is really..."

He admired him very much, he was in charge of the artillery, and thought about it day and night, but he was ashamed to say something casually like the general.

Afterwards, Zhao Xuan fidgeted and was only thinking about the new drug package test. It seemed that Wen Daxing was also a little uneasy.

Suddenly he put down his bowl and chopsticks, and said worriedly to Wang Dou: "General, brother Xie Yike led sentry cavalry to the Baimiao Fort of Thieves and Slaves yesterday. Right now, the Tartar soldiers are heavily guarded on both sides of the Naughty River, and the general will be a little worried. Xie Brotherhood Is there any danger."

For a while the tent was quiet, Wang Dou paused his hands, slowly raised his head, and sighed for a long time, "Soldiers are fierce and dangerous. On the battlefield, who knows when they will live and when they will die? But warriors fight on the battlefield. , horse leather shroud, no matter who you are, you must not be cowardly, and you must not avoid it. Brother Wen, although Yike is my brother-in-law, but there is no father or son in the army, how to deal with it is according to military law. You must give orders, and you must not favoritism."

Seeing what Wen Daxing wanted to say, Wang Dou waved his hand: "Section One strongly demands to go to the Sharp Whistle Camp. He must have considered all the consequences. He has rich experience in sentry, so nothing will happen."

"Okay, everyone is full, let's discuss the matter now!"

Han Chao and others were a little worried, and it was really dangerous not to accept them at night, especially now that the Tartars were paying more and more attention to the Jingbian Army.

Xie Yike has a lively personality, they actually like him quite a lot, even if he is not Wang Dou's brother-in-law, everyone still makes friends with him.Especially Han Chao, a good friend who has known Xie Yike since the Jingbian Fort, Xie Yike's sentry skills were trained by Han Chao, it is impossible to say not to worry.

But the general didn't discuss this matter anymore, so they didn't talk about it anymore, so as not to worry.

The fire soldiers put away the table, and all the generals gathered in front of the sand table.

Compared with when we first arrived in Songshan, the topographic map of the sand table near Jinzhou at this time is more detailed.

At this time, many small flags were inserted on the sand table, representing the distribution of the enemy and the enemy.The original Rufeng Mountain, Shimen Mountain and other places had fewer flags representing the Qing soldiers, but in Jinzhou City and other places, there were many more flags representing their military strength.

These small flags were all set based on the results of the reconnaissance and survey of the Sharp Whistle Battalion.

Looking at the sand table, everyone was in deep thought. What is the intention of the Tartars retreating in Rufeng Mountain and other places, and increasing troops in Jinzhou City?
What are their plans for action?
Han Chao thought for a long time, and said: "General, the last general thinks that the reason why the thieves and slaves withdrew a large number of troops in Rufeng Mountain and other places and stepped up their attack on Jinzhou is to lure our army to go, extend the front line, and take advantage of the opportunity. .”

"As for the withdrawal of troops from the mountains, Shimen Mountain is the most common, and Rufeng Mountain still has a lot of thieves and slaves. Therefore, the strategy of thieves and slaves is to lure the main force of our army to the city of Jinzhou. If our division is dragged by them, tens of thousands of cavalry Then you can cross the Naughty River and cut off my grain road!"

"The sentry came, and the number of bandits in Baimiaobao has increased a lot. Obviously, they have been spying on Xingshan and other places for a long time."

He pointed to the wilderness to the east and northeast of Jinzhou City: "When the two sides fight, it is probably here. At that time, our army and Songshan Fort are separated by Rufeng Mountain and Shimen Mountain, so it will be inconvenient to go back and forth. The southeast side of the river detours, and Rufeng Mountain, as well as the Naughty River section in the northwest, are all controlled by slaves, and it is extremely difficult for Jieshi to rescue Xingshan."

Han Chao sighed: "Under the intensified siege of Jinzhou by the thieves and slaves, now that some of their goals have been achieved, everyone in Wu Sangui can't bear it anymore and is eager to go to the rescue. Governor Ji Liao also thinks that Jinzhou is difficult to defend and is afraid. The city was stormed down, the consequence is something they cannot bear."

Wang Dou nodded slowly, and Zhong Xiancai said: "Although the plan of the thieves and slaves is like this, our army can also use the plan to attack Shimen Mountain and reach the Xiaoling River, and then control all sections along the river, directly use ships, collect food, firewood, and even Reinforcement troops are continuously transported into the city from the south gate. In this way, the danger of a part of Jinzhou can also be relieved, and the generals of Liaodong Army are eager to relieve the siege of Jinzhou. Today, I followed the general to survey various sections of the Xiaoling River, and the river was exhausted. You can drive a boat."

Han Chao solemnly said: "Having said that, the battle with the bandit army at Jieshi is under the city of Jinzhou. The terrain, the transportation of artillery, and the transportation of food and grass are far less convenient than in Songshan Fort. In fact, the best strategy is to fight in Songshan and Thieves and slaves hold each other!"

"Today there are hundreds of thousands of troops, and both sides have difficulties in supplying food and grass. However, our Ming Dynasty is more powerful, and now we have dried fish and other things, which can last longer than bandits and slaves. If we continue to fight, the bandits will not continue to supply food and grass, and we will definitely die without fighting. If you are defeated, if you march into Jinzhou, you will be tricked by bandits and slaves!"

(End of this chapter)