Go back to the Ming Dynasty to be a thousand households

Chapter 178 Dissatisfaction
Everyone entered the central tent of the Wuzhaibao army. There was a large thick carpet inside, and everyone sat on the ground.Soon, the servants put out meals, including luncheon meat slices, ham sausage, dried fish, dried tofu, shredded sauerkraut, salted eggs, alfalfa soup, etc., and brought in a large bucket of rice.

Six dishes and one soup, with meat and vegetables, are a little better than what the soldiers outside eat.

Every dish is full of oily aroma, which makes Li Rubai, Li Ruzhang brothers and others want to eat. Looking at the ham sausage and other dishes on it, Li Rubai, Li Ruzhang brothers and others still know each other. As for the canned luncheon meat, everyone is a little strange up.

Li Rubai curiously picked up a piece of fried luncheon meat and ate it, the taste was exquisite and tender.What is even more surprising is that the meat still retains the delicious taste of fresh meat, and there is no dried meat at all, and the unpalatable and unpleasant smell of bacon.What's more, the bacon can't be stored for long in this hot weather, let alone transported thousands of miles.

Li Rubai pointed to the luncheon meat on it and asked Huang Laifu strangely: "General Huang, is this a piece of meat? Why is it different from the meat my brother has seen before?"

Huang Laifu said: "This is the canned luncheon meat made by our Wuzhai Fort. If Li Shenjiang likes it, brother, I can give you a few cans."

Li Rubai said happily: "Then thank you General Huang."

On a long-distance march, the most important thing is how to eat fresh meat, fresh fruits and vegetables, etc. Huang Laifu thought of canned food for later generations.The method of Chinese canned food was applied to folks as early as 3000 years ago.The earliest agricultural book "Qi Min Yao Shu" has such a record: "First cut the livestock meat into pieces, add salt and wheat flour, mix well, and finish, and seal the head with dense mud in the inner porcelain." Although this is not the same as modern canned food There are differences, but the principle is the same.

Huang Laifu absorbed the ancient and modern Chinese and foreign magic methods, especially the method developed by the Frenchman Apel in [-]. He bought a large number of small porcelain jars, processed the food, put them into the jars, put them all in a boiling water pot, and heated them. After [-] minutes, plug it tightly with a cork while it is hot, and then seal it with wax.In this way, food can be preserved for a long time without rot and deterioration.

According to this method, various food factories in Wuzhai produced a large number of canned food for military and civilian use.Canned meat, canned vegetables, canned fruits, etc., all-encompassing.However, due to the limited transportation capacity, the military march of Wuzhaibao only carried a large amount of canned luncheon meat.Vegetables and fruits, bought on the way.

While everyone was eating, Huang Laifu introduced them to various canned foods in Wuzhai Fort. He heard that a large number of Wuzhai Fort caravans would arrive in a few days. Li Rubai was surprised that at the same time, a caravan was used to transport food and goods. .On the one hand, he said that if possible, he hoped that Huang Laifu could give them some canned food, as well as grain and grass, and Li Rubai was willing to pay a high price for them.It is inconvenient to transport grain for thousands of miles, but it is still possible to transport some silver taels.Xuanfu Town is rich, and Li Rubai's Xuanfu vanguard army brought a large amount of silver.

Huang Laifu naturally agreed, and the tent was even more harmonious after that.While eating, everyone listened to Huang Laifu's introduction about his farming in Shanxi Town and his battle with the Mongols in Wuzhaibao last year.

Huang Laifu still ate slowly, although he had a rough appearance, but because he had enjoyed a lot in his previous life, he never paid much attention to what he ate.

But brothers Li Rubai and Li Ruzhang, as well as some of their relatives, just gobbled it up.Li Ruzhang, in particular, eats more than a few people. Hearing Huang Laifu talk about the wonderful things, he applauds and laughs while drinking in a big bowl.There is also his close follower He Shien, who opened his chest and showed his strong muscles. He felt uncomfortable eating with chopsticks, so he used his hands to eat, and his mouth was full of greasy food.

Xuanfu Town has been in peace for many years, and in front of them outside the customs is a group of Mongolian tribes led by San Niangzi. After the Longqing peace talks, they have been orderly for decades, and there is no war. Xuanfu Town has not fought a war for a long time.Listening to Huang Laifu's talk happily, everyone was overwhelmed.

Warriors admire warriors the most. Brothers Li Rubai, Li Ruzhang and others saw that Huang Laifu was promoted to the position of deputy commander in such a young age. Everyone in Xuanfu Town was still a little bit dissatisfied.But now, according to what Huang Laifu said, he fought against tens of thousands of Mongolian soldiers with the strength of a fortress, and beheaded thousands of them. Based on this military merit, he was promoted to the position of deputy commander-in-chief, which is a real achievement.On the other hand, brothers Li Rubai and Li Ruzhang have been promoted to their current positions thanks to their father's shadow.

After listening to Huang Laifu's introduction of Wuzhaibao's experience in farming, Li Ruzhang only drank, but Li Rubai was suddenly moved. According to Huang Laifu, if his brothers and others run Xuanfu Town, how much food can they get.But Li Rubai hesitated again when he heard that in the end, according to Huang Laifu's method, it was too expensive, and if he invested it in the end, would there be corresponding output? He should discuss it with his elder brother.

That night, the Li brothers and others drank until late at night before returning to their camp with singing songs. The officers and soldiers of the Xuanfu who came from Xuanfu Town also returned to the camp with their chests and belly full of satisfaction after dinner. .

At dawn the next day, most of the officers and soldiers in Xuanfu Town were still sleeping soundly, when they heard the sound of slogans outside and the sound of orderly footsteps.Many officers and soldiers of Xuanfu Town were woken up, their dreams were disturbed, and many of them cursed.

"Damn, which bastard is full and has nothing to do, and keeps arguing outside?"

Many Xuanfu officers and soldiers got up cursing, put on their clothes and looked outside, they couldn't help being stunned, but saw that in the Shanxi town camp opposite, all the officers and soldiers were neatly dressed, all in armor, holding various weapons and firecrackers, running and practicing , Shout loudly.

The officers and soldiers of the Xuanfu whispered and huddled aside to watch. Except for the servants, ordinary soldiers rarely practiced this kind of drill a few times a month. After arriving in Ningxia Town, they didn't practice once for many days.Everyone in the Xuan Mansion was talking in low voices, no wonder the officers and soldiers in Shanxi Town were elite, they ate well and practiced hard.

Brothers Li Rubai and Li Ruzhang also stood up in their clothes. Accompanied by some family members and generals, they stood aside and watched. Looking at the neat queue in the neighboring barracks, their vigorous steps while running, and their well-trained passwords, the two brothers They all looked at each other.

Li Ruzhang shouted: "What are you looking at, tell the brothers to get up and practice too, be lazy, don't let the brother troops laugh."

His order went down, and there was a lot of complaints immediately.

The last general came back sweating profusely and said: "No way, Mr. Du Si, the soldiers don't have enough to eat every day, how can they have the strength to practice. Force it down, be careful of the soldiers mutiny."

In the end, Li Ruzhang had no choice but to change his words: "Damn, tell those servants to get up and practice, and they are still sleeping, what a ghost."

Various voices of passwords came from the Shanxi Town camp over there, and then the camp gate opened, and the Wuzhai Fort army over there, except for a part of them staying in the camp, the rest lined up in a neat array, with six After running in a single file around the camp, everyone finally ran out of the camp gate.

These people are fully armed, covered with thick iron armor, leaning their weapons on their shoulders, and the sound of orderly and heavy footsteps is even more surprising.Huang Laifu was actually in the lead, and he was also fully armored, leading all the soldiers to run ahead.

These people shouted "one, two, three, four" in a neat voice, and they trotted out of the camp, and the formation was not chaotic at all.In the end, they ran neatly, as if they were going to circle the city for a week.

Fully armed every day, the long-distance running of ten miles is the routine content of the Wuzhaibao army, and Huang Laifu leads the run every time.They don't think much of it themselves, but it's different in the eyes of others.Not to mention Li Rubai, Li Ruzhang brothers and others' Xuanfu troops were stunned, but passing through various Ming military camps along the way, everyone was shocked.

The Wuzhaibao army is fully armed, from the officers to the soldiers, everyone is wearing iron armor. Such powerful equipment makes everyone speechless. Yesterday, many people in the barracks knew each other and had heated discussions about it.But with such a neat queue, running in unison around the city, after a few miles, there is still no chaos at all, which is shocking.

The Wuzhaibao army either shouted slogans or sang military songs. Under the leadership of Huang Laifu, the [-] soldiers moved in unison and their footsteps were always in unison.

"one two three four……"

"When the sun halos, it rains; when the moon halos, it winds. Where there is a que, where there is wind..."

The slogans became louder and louder, and the singing became more and more majestic.Outside the four city gates of Ningxia town, there are a large number of Ming troops stationed. Seeing the footsteps of this armored army coming, they are always in order. Everyone is crowded around the barracks to watch, and everyone looks Different, some people are surprised, some are envious, some are jealous, some think that this army is too full, and some are full of admiration.

Even the Ningxia rebels on the city wall were shocked, many heads were exposed, and some people dressed as generals even pointed at the running army below the city.

Fully armed, they ran around the city. When they ran from the northeast to the west gate, Huang Laifu and other Wuzhaibao soldiers were already sweating profusely, but they still kept their movements and formations, and their steps were firm and powerful.

Stationed outside the west gate is a part of the army led by the new Ningxia General Officer Xiao Ruxun. Seeing this army running around the city for drills, he was also startled. He was surprised and said: "Where did this army come from? It is so elite?"

After passing through the west gate, near the south gate, the army led by Dong Yikui, Dong Yiyuan's brother, and the army led by Ma Gui, the generals of Ningxia Zhengxi, are stationed. See the Wuzhaibao army, wearing iron armor, running neatly, Dong Yikui Taking a deep breath, he said, "Could this be the army from Shanxi Town?" Ma Gui was also startled, with a dignified expression.

After passing through the south gate, here is the camp of the Chinese army led by Wei Xuezeng, governor of the three sides, and Zhu Zhengse, governor of Ningxia, and thousands of Gansu reinforcements led by governor of Gansu Ye Mengxiong. They are also stationed here.

Seeing Huang Laifu, wearing a heavy iron armor, taking the lead in training, followed by thousands of armored people, running from the northeast to the south gate. They have run for several miles. The neat queue has remained the same.Not to mention Wei Xuezeng and Zhu Zhengse sucked in the cold air, even Ye Mengxiong couldn't stop looking out.

In the end, Huang Laifu and others ran back to their camp to rest and eat.After breakfast, continue to practice.Running with heavy loads in the wild is just a common training course in the Wuzhaibao army. Among the people in Wuzhaibao, no one takes it seriously, just run back.

However, this incident caused a profound sensation in the Ming military camps below the city. It has become a hot topic among everyone for many days.Even the rebels in the city were talking about it.Many officers of the Ming Dynasty under the city also wanted to imitate the Wuzhaibao army's drills, but their soldiers were not well-managed and often didn't have enough to eat. They couldn't stand such strenuous exercise, so they had to give up.

Because of attacking or fussing, Wei Xuezeng, Ye Mengxiong and others have not yet competed for the ugly Yinmaochen, so these days, the city has been calm and the battle has not stopped.And Huang Laifu led his own army, apart from running around the city every morning, he usually just drilled in the camp and ignored everything.

But even though he keeps his ears shut and only trains his own soldiers, others can't stop talking about him.Now the wealth of Shanxi town soldiers has spread to every military camp. Every day, you can eat white rice and eat meat, and the Xuanfu town soldiers next to them can often "exchange" and "enhance the friendship between the two sides." In the name of the army, come here to cheat food and drink, other troops do not have this convenience.

Watching my own soldiers drink porridge, but others can have a full meal and eat meat.Many military officers in the barracks were dissatisfied, and they went to the governor of the three sides, Wei Xuezeng, to complain.

Wei Xuezeng also had no choice, he said: "Shanxi town soldiers prepare their own food and drink, and they eat and drink. The governor did not distribute the food. On the contrary, you need to allocate a large amount of food and grass from the governor every time. If You can also prepare your own food and drink, no matter how much you eat and drink, no one will say anything about you."

Those officers had no choice but to leave. They were not as rich as Huang Laifu, so what could they do?Wei Xuezeng also felt that the lack of food in the city had caused some hidden dangers in the military camps. However, the ability of the peasants in the provinces to transport food had reached its limit. Coupled with the poverty in the northwest provinces, Wei Xuezeng could not change the food and grass.

What's even more enviable is that every afternoon, there are still some girls from the propaganda team in the Shanxi town army singing. Although there are some camp prostitutes in the Daming barracks under the town, these camp prostitutes are more than that. Can you beat the girls from the propaganda team in Shanxi Town?

Finally, in the military barracks of Wuzhaibao, there was an endless stream of "exchange" officers from various military camps. Shanxi town army news.Let’s not talk about eating enough meat every day, what is the monthly payment, military uniforms are issued quarterly, what kind of pension system, etc., all of which make people drool. What is the beheading system? It's amazing.Many soldiers have the idea of ​​changing jobs in their hearts.

Even Wei Xuezeng, the governor of the three sides, after hearing the reputation of Wuzhaibao's canned luncheon meat, sent people to take away more than a dozen cans.And Zhu Zhengse and Ye Mengxiong also sent their own soldiers to take away a batch of canned luncheon meat. These people did not give money outright.

Under such "communications", Huang Laifu was surprised to find that the food and grass that his camp could have eaten for about ten days could only eat for four days now.

(End of this chapter)