Ming Zuo

Chapter 56 Troops
The eldest lady went home smoothly, and the Xu residence swept away the haze and was happy.

When the banquet was set up again, Xu Guangqi and Xu Erjue didn't eat a single bite, watching Xu Ruolin feast on it.

After many days of running around, life and death, and finally returning home and eating hometown food, Xu Ruolin completely forgot about the appearance of a lady, and what she eats is called a joy.

However, neither Xu Guangqi nor Xu Erjue were the ones to restrain her. In front of these two relatives, Xu Ruolin was the most relaxed.

Seeing that Xu Ruolin had almost eaten, Xu Guangqi seemed to have no intention of saying: "Nan, have you suffered for the past few days?"

What did Xu Ruolin say?

"When I first escaped from Qingxian, I almost lost my life. However, after assisting the guerrilla general Liu Yuanqing in Nanpi in a battle, it was much better. The Zuo family is very hospitable, and my granddaughter ate a lot of Shandong cuisine. The dishes in Jiangnan are very different.”

Xu Guangqi was amused.

You are the granddaughter of the Minister of Rites. No one dares to neglect you wherever you go.

When the chatterbox was opened, Xu Ruolin would not put it away.

How did the rebel bandits attack the city in Qingxian, how Zuo Menggeng rescued her, how she fought with the horse bandits, how Zuo Menggeng wanted to make up the horse bandits to backstab, how to help Liu Yuanqing retake the county seat, etc. come out.

When Xu Guangqi and Xu Erjue heard it, their heart skipped a beat and they almost fainted.

In that kind of environment, let alone Xu Ruolin, even if they were replaced, they couldn't bear it.

Hearing that Xu Ruolin and Du Zuo Menggeng were riding the same horse for several days in a row, Xu Guangqi faintly felt that something was wrong.

"Nan, what is Zuo Menggeng like?"

Xu Ruolin smiled and was in high spirits.

"The grandchildren thought they were enough to escape, but I didn't expect that Zuo Menggeng was even more outrageous. Some words, even the grandchildren felt too radical. But he really knows a lot, especially Western affairs, he The grandchildren don't know a lot of things they said."

Xu Guangqi smiled slightly.

"The world is so big that no one can know it all. By the way, what about Zuo Menggeng's knowledge?"

Xu Ruolin directly covered her mouth this time, as if Zuo Menggeng was right there, letting her laugh.

"What kind of knowledge does he have? The words are so ugly. He also insists on reasoning, saying that moral articles are not grounded and useless in governing the country and the people."

Xu Guangqi was stunned for a moment, and his heart was slightly turbulent.

Xu Erjue couldn't help but pouted.

"It's really a shameless statement. Fang today, self-cultivation, family order, and governance of the world, all rely on moral articles. This son is so mad and rebellious, and he is not afraid of being cast aside by the world?"

Xu Ruolin looked at the second brother with a half-smile but only said one sentence.

"Second brother, do you know that the mad boy you mentioned has been accepted as a student by Niantai Gong?"

"how is this possible?"

Xu Erjue exclaimed, unable to hide the envy in his expression.

Although he is Xu Guangqi's grandson, Liu Zongzhou is the best in the world when it comes to learning.In the south of the Yangtze River, there are countless people who are eager to worship Liu Zongzhou as a teacher, such as the crucian carp crossing the river.

However, Liu Zongzhou never accepted students, adhering to the principle of prudence and solitude, and became more and more lonely.

Unexpectedly, an exception turned out to be a person who blamed moral articles.

Xu Erjue thought he understood.

"Hmph, but he is an inviter again. With a little trick, it is difficult to enter the hall of elegance."

This time Xu Ruolin decided to use the facts to teach Xu Erjue a lesson.

"Second brother thought that Zuo Menggeng was accepted as a student by Niantai Gong, did he want to learn a moral essay? Before my little sister came back, I read a strange essay there. Although it is not over yet, it is already obvious. The younger sister copied it, the second brother may wish to correct one or two."

Xu Ruolin took out the manuscript from her baggage and prepared to hand it to Xu Erjue.

Xu Erjue sneered, not feeling that a nameless person could do anything wise.Just as he was about to take it over to take a look, and then point out the errors and absurdities, he heard Xu Guangqi's cough.

Helpless, I had to hand over the manuscript respectfully.

Xu Guangqi took it and looked at it silently.The hall was silent for a while, except for the sound of him flipping the manuscript.

Zuo Menggeng's "The Wealth of Nations" did not contain much content, so Xu Guangqi read it very quickly.After reading it, his eyes looked at the empty space, without focus.

But the shock in his heart, but only he himself understands.

When handing over the manuscript to Xu Ruolin, she specially instructed: "Keep it carefully, and don't show it to others easily."

Seeing Xu Guangqi being so solemn, Xu Erjue became anxious.

"Grandfather, I'm not an outsider."

Xu Guangqi looked at him, and said softly, "I'm a mediocre person, don't sully your masterpiece."

Xu Erjue was about to vomit blood and became even more curious.

What the hell made Xu Guangqi do this.

Xu Guangqi's words made Xu Ruolin extremely happy, she quickly put away the manuscript, remembered something, and quickly said: "By the way, Yaya, Zuo Menggeng asked me to ask you for help before leaving."

"Oh, what is he going to do?"

Xu Guangqi waited quietly to see what Xu Ruolin said.

This is the last observation of Zuo Menggeng.

If Zuo Menggeng wanted to ask for an official title through Xu Ruolin, Xu Guangqi would immediately look down on her character, and some thoughts would be broken.

Xu Ruolin said, "Zuo Menggeng asked you for some Western seeds. He said that Linqing had a severe drought this year, and the crops failed. I don't know how next year will be, so I want to plant some Western crops to see if they can work wonders."

It turned out to be this.

Xu Guangqi stroked his beard and pondered, and couldn't help but become curious about the young man who was far away in Linqing.

"I know."

Xu Guangqi returned to the study, sat quietly for a while, and wrote a letter with a pen.After carefully sealing it, he took some manuscripts from the bookshelf and called the housekeeper Xu Xiang.

After giving the manuscripts and teachings to Xu Xiang, he instructed: "Go and prepare a carload of gifts with your heart, as well as the seeds of those Western crops, and pack some of them. You can send them to Linqing in person and give them to the son of the Zuo family. ."

Xu Xiang was startled.

"Master, is this too solemn?"

Xu Guangqi didn't explain, just said: "Go. Go early and return early, and you can catch up with the Chinese New Year."

Of course, Zuo Menggeng didn't know that Xu Guangqi was thinking about him.

He is busy recruiting troops now, and he is so dizzy.

The location of the recruitment is at the pier, and the project is not delayed, which is considered to kill two birds with one stone.

Zuo Menggeng took Huang Zongxi, Liu Yiyuan, Zhou You and others to personally check.

The recruiting process is not troublesome, it is divided into several steps.

The first step is to ask about the age. Anyone under [-] or over [-] should not be asked.

There are so many refugees at the wharf, and after this process, there are still more than [-] people left.

Next is the physical test.

There are no medical means these days, so naturally a comprehensive examination cannot be done.

The only way to know if a person is healthy or not is a physical test.

Three thousand people ran round and round the pier clearing, getting dusty.Those who run less than ten laps are naturally eliminated.

Under this process, more than [-] people were wiped out.

After that, there were further tests such as lifting stone locks and measuring eyesight. In the end, more than [-] people passed.

This time, Huang Zongxi and others were in trouble.

"We have to make further selections to get the soldiers we want."

Zuo Menggeng didn't see it that way.

"These are all very good, why do you have to choose again?"

Zuo Rong thought he was negligent, so he had to remind: "Young master, according to the rules, the number of troops in a battalion..."

Before he could finish speaking, Zuo Menggeng clucked.

"What's wrong with my battalion having eight innings?"

He Li Yunlong...

"Eight...eight innings?"

Everyone was stunned.

In the military system of the Ming Dynasty, the most basic unit was the team.

Each team consists of [-] people, with one captain; three teams are one flag, and one flag is set up, which is often referred to as the small flag officer; three flags are one division, and one hundred chiefs are set; three divisions are one inning, set up Put the total number one.

In the end, the three innings were combined into one battalion, and the commanding officer was Qian Zong.

Zuo Menggeng opened his mouth to be one battalion and eight innings, completely ignoring the current military system.

But the big guy thought about it carefully, and suddenly realized that there seemed to be no problem.

Although this rear camp is nominally part of the Linqing Association, Liu Yuanqing, the participating general, has nothing to do with it.

There are also Qu Shisi and Zhang Jimeng covering it. Not to mention eight rounds in a battalion, even if it is eighteen rounds, isn't that what Zuo Menggeng said?
And the increase to eight rounds means that there are more soldiers.

Which commander-in-chief doesn't want more of his subordinates to be better?
Besides, more soldiers means more positions for officers.

Don't they all have officials?

After I figured this out, no one raised any objections, and they all acquiesced.

Liu Yiyuan raised a practical question.

"These refugees take us as the backbone. If only three thousand people are taken, what will happen to the remaining two thousand people?"

Zuo Menggeng had already made plans.

"The more than [-] people can't be wasted. I have a lot of use. Wait, I went to find the military police and ordered the soldiers down."

(End of this chapter)