Go back to the Ming Dynasty to be a thousand households

Chapter 179 The caravan arrived

Fortunately, three days later, the rolling Wuzhaibao caravan arrived one after another. They brought a large number of food and grass commodities, not to mention solving Huang Laifu's hidden worries, and at the same time they also caused a huge commotion in the town of Ningxia.

From the middle of the Ming Dynasty, merchants and the officers and soldiers of the border towns of the Ming Dynasty formed a close relationship.In addition to the grain and grass transported by the Beijing Bank and the folks, the rest of the grain and grass needs of the border towns are met by merchants.

However, it was the first time in the history of the Ming Dynasty that the Wuzhaibao army used merchants to transport food purely.In Lingzhou City in the rear, although there are some merchants from Shaanxi and Ningxia gathered, they are not as courageous as the merchants from Wuzhaibao, and they dare not come below the town.

This also attracted the attention of Wei Xuezeng, governor of the three sides, and others. Although merchants need to buy grain at the market price or a price higher than the market price, it seems expensive, but overall it is cheap.

The transportation of food by the army and the people also cost a lot of money, and the consumption and waste on the road are extremely serious.To transport one stone of grain from the interior of Shaanxi and Gansu to the city of Ningxia, four or five stones of grain will be consumed on the way.Hundreds of thousands of troops need to dispatch hundreds of thousands of civilians. I don't know how much food will be consumed on the road.And the people are also complaining.These civilian husbands are strong laborers. After they were transferred away from home, the fields at home were abandoned.Maybe they don't get any wages except to eat.

However, when merchants are used to transport grain, these factors do not exist, and there is no need to worry about the abuse of people's power.The employment of civilian husbands and the consumption on the road, they will naturally plan accordingly, and the consumption on the road can be said to have plummeted.And these losses are not the court's.The imperial army will only need to buy food directly at that time, and there is no need to worry about everything.

Of course, there are many things that need to be paid attention to when using merchants to transport grain. For example, their transportation capacity. Can the grain transported by these merchants meet the grain and grass needs of an army of [-]?After a few months, at least one million stones of grain and grass are needed. Do they have that much grain?There is also the question of money. Can the imperial court afford the money to buy so much grain and grass directly?

But in any case, using merchants to transport grain is a very beneficial supplement.

Caravans from Wuzhai Fort kept coming, and they were stationed next to the Wuzhai Fort army camp. All of a sudden, the town became much more lively.There is a shortage of food in the city, but there is still some money in the hands of the quelling troops.

In the past few months of fighting the chaos, although the transportation capacity was limited and the supply of food and grass could not keep up, the army fighting the chaos under the town was paid on a monthly basis, and even during wartime, they were paid twice.Although it was deducted layer by layer, a large part of it was lost, but there was still some silver in the hands of the soldiers, especially those battalion soldiers who took the silver.

The Xuanfu army beside Huang Laifu immediately bought several thousand shi of grain from the Wuzhaibao caravan.Seeing the Xuanfu army taking the lead, many soldiers from all battalions also bought it one after another.

In the Wuzhai Fort caravan, in addition to food, there are also various foods of Wuzhai Fort. Canned luncheon meat is the main product. In addition, there are a large number of Wuzhai Fort bean curd skin, dried tofu, fermented bean curd, bean paste, salted eggs, sauerkraut , preserved eggs, dried fish, ham, etc., everything.There are also Wuzhaibao vegetable oil, Wuzhaibao woolen cloth, etc., which are also brought in a lot.

Huang Laifu doesn't mind the Wuzhaibao caravan doing business with others as long as it can meet the needs of his own army.Originally, he brought the caravan here for the purpose of making war fortune and opening up the market.He wants these businessmen to know that every time they go to war with the army, they can only make money and not lose money, so as to increase their enthusiasm for joining the army in the future.

Under the town of Ningxia, soldiers from various battalions bought grain and grass one after another, and various non-staple foods in Wuzhaibao were also in short supply.Especially in the past few days, Wuzhaibao's canned luncheon meat has become famous, and it is the focus of everyone's attention.The rich army should buy more, and the poor army should buy less. You have to taste it.

But then everyone also thought of a question, I came to quell the chaos, so why do I have to pay for the purchase of food and grass by myself?They went to the governor of the three sides, Wei Xuezeng, to make a fuss, demanding that the governor "reimburse" the money for buying materials.There is endless debate about who gets the money.

Wei Xuezeng, the governor of the three sides, did not argue with everyone. After noticing the role of the Wuzhaibao caravan, he also found the leader of the caravan, Qu Yuanrui, and asked him to buy [-] shi of grain from him. It was sold at a price of one tael or six dollars.

This is a big deal, and the people in the caravan acted urgently to contact merchants from all over the place for food sources.And with such a big business, it goes without saying that he made a lot of money this time. Everyone in the Wuzhaibao caravan was smiling.When they heard about such a business opportunity, the local merchants in Ningxia town couldn't help but regret it, and quickly joined the grain sales team.

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In the Wuzhaibao barracks, several girls from the propaganda team were singing.

The current Wuzhaibao barracks has become the most popular place for the anti-insurgency troops under the town. As long as you can come in, you can eat and drink, and you can also listen to the girls in the barracks singing. It is really a kind of enjoyment .However, due to the too many people who came here a while ago, for the sake of safety, no one is allowed to enter the current Wuzhai Fort barracks except for some senior officers from the outer camp.

At this time, the Wuzhaibao barracks is heavily guarded, because today, there are several officers at the rank of commander-in-chief, these people are Ningxia commander-in-chief Xiao Ruxun, Ningxia deputy commander-in-chief Ma Gui, and his two generals Ma Kongying , Ma Chengzhao.There is also Dong Yikui, General Zhengxi, and his brother Dong Yiyuan.There is also Li Wei, the deputy commander in chief of Ningxia, with his generals Wu Xian, Zhao Wu, Zhang Qi and others.In addition, two brothers, Li Rubai and Li Ruzhang, were also on the sidelines.

These people are Huang Laifu who has been famous for a long time in history.That Xiao Ruxun was originally a general of Ningxia. He was famous for defending the city with his wife Yang and resisting the attack of the rebels for several months.Since then, Xiao Ruxun has successively served as the commander-in-chief of the seven towns of the Ming Dynasty. History books commented on him that every time he guarded a town, he was particularly stable and made great achievements.

This old man is not only good at fighting, but also very good at writing poems. He can be called a Confucian general, and he was in contact with many literati and inkmen at that time. At this time, Huang Laifu saw him. He was about [-] years old.

There is also that Ma Gui, who is even more fierce brother.The Ma family, like the Li family, is a family of military generals, and the family is also full of stars, with strong generals.At that time, it was called "Dongli Xima".

Ma Gui's father, Ma Lu, was a famous general in Datong, and later became the chief military officer of the Xuanfu.Ma Gui's brother, Ma Jin, is also a fierce general.

And Ma Gui himself is even more incredible, whether in the Ningxia War or the future Korean War, he will shine brilliantly.Moreover, his military achievements can be said to have come from his own hard work.

Ma Gui is 50 years old this year, with a weathered look on his face, he is an old soldier.During the Longqing period of the Ming Dynasty, he served as the general of Datong Xinpingbao.The Tatars invaded the border towns, and Shanyin, Huairen, and Yingzhou were captured one after another. Only Youwei City was preserved under the joint efforts of Magui and his brother Majin, who led their families and the army and the people. Chief soldier.In the tenth year of Wanli, Ma Gui served as the commander-in-chief of Ningxia as the governor, and was soon transferred to the commander-in-chief of Datong.In the 19th year of Wanli, he was impeached and banished to the frontier.After the chaos in Ningxia, he was appointed as the deputy commander-in-chief of Ningxia.

From young to now, he can be said to have suffered through many vicissitudes.Huang Laifu pays special attention to him, not because he is handsome, but because after the Ningxia War, Ma Guihui will be promoted to be the commander-in-chief of Yansui Town, right next to him in Shanxi Town, and the two may have a lot of opportunities to cooperate in the future .

As for Dong Yikui, brother Dong Yiyuan.Dong Yikui is also a figure. He once served as the governor, and successively guarded the frontier defense of Shanxi, Yansui, and Ningxia provinces. He is famous for his bravery.In the 20th year of Wanli, he wore the seal of General Zhengxi and guarded Ningxia.At that time, the rebels were guarding the city.Dong Yikui was not allowed to enter, so he worked outside the city. He did not remove his armor day and night for more than 80 days, causing the leaves of the armor to be corroded and perforated by sweat.In the Korean War, there were also extraordinary performances.He is about 50 years old this year, and he is an upright person.

His brother Dong Yiyuan, who is also a fierce general, is now nearly fifty years old.During the Jiajing period, Dong Yiyuan served as the guerrilla general of Jizhen.At that time, more than 11 cavalry from Tuman, Heishan and other ministries invaded, and Hu Zhen, the commander-in-chief, led his troops to resist. Dong Yiyuan made the most contribution and was promoted to the general of Shimenzhai.In the early years of Longqing, he defeated the enemy army at Bangchuiya, and was the highest in military exploits. He was promoted to deputy commander and stationed at Gubeikou.In the 15th year of Wanli, Dong Yiyuan served as the commander-in-chief of Changping with the title of governor, and soon moved to Xuanfu.After [-] years of Wanli, he moved to Jizhou, Ningxia, Yansui and other places, and the imperial court appointed him as the governor and Tongzhi, and also served as the official of the central government.

During the Ningxia Rebellion in the 20th year of Wanli, Dong Yiyuan led his troops to take advantage of the emptiness behind the Hetao tribe in Mongolia, went out to plagiarize, smashed his camp, and beheaded more than 3000 people.In the end, Jigong was promoted to the general officer of Liaodong.He successively guarded the key points of the border, with outstanding military exploits, he was also known as the frontier general along with Ma Gui, Zhang Chen, Du Tong and Dayun at that time.

Finally, there is Li Wei, the deputy commander-in-chief of Ningxia. This old man had served as the commander-in-chief of Ningxia some time ago, and he also led his troops to recover Fort 47 in Hexi. He has worked hard, but his official luck is not good. If the city could not be suppressed, Emperor Wanli appointed Xiao Ruxun, who had outstanding performance, as the commander-in-chief of Ningxia, and let him continue to be his deputy commander-in-chief.

These generals have been fighting for a long time, and their achievements are usually made with one knife and one gun. They are all very arrogant. Ordinary people usually don't see it in their eyes.Huang Laifu, a young deputy commander in chief, must have been a playboy of someone in the court according to everyone's thinking.

Ordinary soldiers may not know that Huang Laifu beheaded more than 3000 Mongols in Wuzhai Fort, but these generals from aristocratic families are all well-informed people, and they have already heard the news.Originally, they doubted whether there would be water in it, but after seeing the military horse trained by Huang Laifu, everyone changed their attitude. It is certain that such a strong soldier can defeat the captives.

Since they were all based on real skills, and the most respected warriors in the army, the old generals changed their attitudes towards Huang Laifu and regarded him as one of their own.What's more, when we came here today, all the generals still asked Huang Laifu.

There is a shortage of food in the various armies, and the transportation capacity of civilians and soldiers is limited. There are very few grain trucks arriving at the town of Ningxia every day, and sometimes they cannot buy food even if they have money.In the past, there was no way to do it, but now the Wuzhaibao caravan came to Ningxia Town, and food continued to be brought in every day.All the generals were thinking about it, hoping to buy it from the caravan.

However, there are few porridge and many monks, everyone wants to buy food, the caravan food is just that, and there are all kinds of non-staple food, everyone is vying for it.The Wuzhaibao army needs sufficient supplies, and there are not many left. Who should sell them to?The caravan was in a dilemma, and the armies were also fighting non-stop.Everyone remembered that Huang Laifu, the deputy commander of Shanxi Town, had a close relationship with the caravan, and wanted him to mediate.Besides, everyone had heard about all the good things in the Wuzhaibao barracks, and it would be a good thing to come and relax and enjoy them, so they came together in groups.

Just now, with great difficulty, Huang Laifu managed to mediate everyone's conflicts.Right now, everyone is sitting around the middle of the camp, listening to the Wuzhaibao girls singing. Huang Laifu, Xiao Ruxun, Ma Gui, Dong Yikui, Dong Yiyuan, Li Yan, Li Rubai, Li Ruzhang brothers and others are sitting in front. The first class, their generals, sat in the second row.

There are also Wuzhai Fort officers and soldiers, taking the bureau as a unit, sitting neatly around the back, listening to the songs above, everyone applauds, especially those who are behind the middle and old generals. Everyone blushed and applauded desperately.

Different from the previous days, these generals from outside camps, especially their entourage, although they are all rough, but now they have tried their best to pretend to be polite, and their language and behavior will be more civilized. Noise, no more hands, no more swear words.

There used to be some people who, after entering the camp, not only howled like wolves while listening to singing, but also touched the female propaganda members of the Wuzhaibao army. Huang Laifu ordered them to beat them violently and drove them out of the barracks In the future, these people will never want to enter the Wuzhai Fort camp again.

After the news came out, everyone in the barracks paid attention to themselves, and at the same time warned their soldiers to behave more politely, so as not to be unable to enter the Wuzhai Fort barracks to eat and drink in the future.At the same time, everyone thought to themselves: "Could it be that these and other propaganda members are all under the confinement of Huang Laifu? It's just that these women are very ordinary in appearance. Besides, how can any man let his concubine come out to show his face, sing and dance?"

To tell the truth, all the girls from the Wuzhaibao Propaganda Team looked ordinary, and every prostitute in the Daming military camp below the city was prettier than them.However, the girls of the Wuzhaibao Propaganda Team are all healthy and lively, with strong agitation, and the many programs they perform are rich and colorful, which are very popular with everyone.After all, those camp prostitutes can only give people physical enjoyment, while the girls from the Wuzhaibao Propaganda Team can give people a kind of spiritual enjoyment, which greatly boosted the morale of the troops.The two are obviously not comparable.

In just a few days, the propaganda team of Wuzhaibao, located in the Daming barracks below the city, has gained a great reputation and a large number of fans.Even Wei Xuezeng, governor of the three sides and several high-ranking civil officials, were tempted to watch.

At this time, a propaganda team member wearing the military uniform of Wuzhai Fort sang the song of Wuzhai Fort, which aroused huge cheers, and the content of the lyrics also made the veterans in the audience think about it.

After she went down, another female team member came up and sang "Brother Soldier" and "We Serve as Soldiers", which aroused huge cheers again.Ma Gui, Dong Yikui, Dong Yiyuan, Li Yan, and Li Ruzhang were still grinning and laughing with the subordinates behind them, while Xiao Ruxun and Li Rubai were thoughtful, realizing that this kind of propaganda team seemed to be The benefits of military morale.

After the song was sung, there were various dances, which aroused bursts of applause, and the atmosphere was very enthusiastic.

At this moment, Jiang Dazhong stepped forward and whispered to Huang Laifu, "Master, Governor of Ningxia Zhu Zhengse is here to invite you."

Jiang Dazhong's voice was always loud, even if he was whispering, everyone around him could hear him clearly. For a while, all the generals looked at each other with different expressions.

(End of this chapter)