Take the warehouse back to the end of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 68 Escorting Food

In the first year of Chongzhen, the situation changed suddenly. Shi Feng, who had just taken office not long ago, came to Shige Lao to write a letter to beg for bones, and Emperor Chongzhen directly approved it.There was an uproar in the entire court, countless people were guessing what was going on here, and countless people were gearing up, ready to charge for the position of chief assistant.

But before they could react, Chongzhen appointed Li Guo as the chief assistant of the cabinet.

Although it was just a move to replace the chief assistant, there were too many things involved.

Just like the wings of a butterfly cause a tornado, with Shi Fenglai's resignation, many officials were removed from office, and many officials were also dismissed.

Chongzhen's operation suddenly touched the hearts of countless officials.All of a sudden, the situation in the entire court changed suddenly, officials were frequently transferred, and countless people wanted to gain some benefits from this change.

The same is true of Qian Qianyi, who was relegated to his hometown in Changshu because of the fraud case in the examination room, he also came to the capital with a few servants and a few carts of money.Attempt to fish in troubled waters and gain an official position.

All of a sudden, a lot of new faces appeared in the entire capital, and countless people were running for their future.

However, all of this has nothing to do with Zhao Wen.

At this time, Zhao Wen was sitting in the hall, eating a copper hot pot leisurely.

The recent bandit suppression has made Zhao Wenruo a lot of money, and now he is like a local rich man.

However, although such days are chic, Zhao Wen is not as happy as he imagined.

In Zhao Wen's heart, there has always been one thing that makes him extremely worried.

That is the matter of the soldiers of Longmenbao.

Although the entire Longmen Fort is not big, it is not small either.There is no problem in accommodating 5000 people.

However, there are only around 200 people in the entire Longmen Fort.

This is still counting the migrant workers who are working, so there are so many.

It's not that Zhao Wen didn't think of a way before, but without exception, it didn't work.

When Zhao Wen was in the army to suppress the bandits, he posted conscription notices in all the villages within a hundred miles, and sent people to lobby.

However, without exception, almost no effect.No one wants to be a soldier.

Seeing that the area under the jurisdiction of Longmenbao was peaceful and the bandits had been wiped out, these ordinary people only wanted to grow crops.

If you ask them why they don't serve as soldiers?They would say: "Good men don't serve as soldiers, and good irons don't make nails. Being a soldier is fatal. Now that the place is so stable and the bandits have been wiped out by the garrison, why should I be a soldier? Plant some land by yourself, and you will be able to save money." I feed myself."

But the salary of the soldiers is very high.

"The military salary is high? That's a lot of life. Although I can't earn a lot of money, it's safe. As for the matter of being a soldier, let those with high ambitions go. I just want my wife and children to stay on the bed."

Such remarks kept coming in an endless stream within the jurisdiction of Longmen Fort, and because of this, Zhao Wen really had a severe headache.He couldn't directly grab the strong men, so he had no choice but to let them go.

Zhao Wen looked at the copper stove in front of the table, holding chopsticks, and was in a daze.

Li Xiaoying picked up a piece of mutton, boiled it in the copper pot for a while, then took it out and put it in Zhao Wen's bowl.

"Why don't you eat?" Li Xiaoying looked at Zhao Wen's preoccupied look and asked.

Zhao Wen let out a long breath, and said decadently: "I don't know what happened. It's been so long, and no one has come to serve as a soldier. Could it be that I only rely on the hundred or so people in my hand?"

Li Xiaoying put down her chopsticks and looked at Zhao Wen. She knew that Zhao Wen was a man with great ambitions.

She looked at the decadent Zhao Wen, and comforted her, "No one is coming to serve as a soldier now, but it doesn't mean that no one will come in the future. Big brother Zhao should hurry up and eat. This man is like iron and steel, how can he do without eating? "

Zhao Wen didn't have a better way for a while, he sighed, picked up the mutton in the bowl, and started to eat.

Although there were peppers in this era, they were regarded as ornamental plants, so they were not promoted.

In addition, peppers are mainly concentrated in the south of the Yangtze River, and there is no boundary in Xuanfu, so the mutton tastes a little bit less when chewed.

Zhao Wen chewed carefully, and ladled some thick soup from the copper pot.

"Tsk tsk tsk, you have to drink soup when you eat hot pot. This hot pot soup is very delicious." Zhao Wen took a sip of hot pot soup and smashed his mouth.

The hot pot soup is made of old hen, beef bones, and wild delicacies that have been boiled for four or five hours over a slow fire.

Although it doesn't have the spicy feeling of the later generations, it has a special flavor when you drink it.

Li Xiaoying watched Zhao Wen eat and drink, smiled sweetly, and picked up some more food for him.

Zhao Wen was eating happily, but saw Zhao Daniu walking in.

"Daniel, come, sit down and eat something." Zhao Wen put down the bowl and chopsticks, and greeted.

Zhao Daniu said: "My lord, Fan Zheng is here."

Zhao Wen was taken aback for a moment, then sighed, "What should come will come, there is no way to avoid it."

"Please come in."

Zhao Wen knew that Fan Zheng's visit this time must be to escort the food for the slaves.

After a few breaths, Fan Zheng walked in with a middle-aged man with a sly eyebrow and a short stature.

Seeing outsiders coming, Li Xiaoying took the maid and hid in the side room of the hall.

Although Zhao Wen didn't care about it, she cared very much.There are guests coming, but the female relatives stay in the hall instead of leaving?

"Brother Fan, come here, the humble house is full of splendor. Come on, sit down. Haven't eaten yet? Hurry up, add a pair of bowls and chopsticks to Brother Fan." Zhao Wen smirked and shouted at the servants standing behind him. road.As for the middle-aged man brought by Fan Zheng, he was ignored by Zhao Wen.

Fan Zheng smiled slightly, and said: "I have already eaten, and now I am here because of the things we discussed earlier."

"Actually, I already guessed Brother Fan's purpose." Zhao Wen chuckled, and then said, "Come here, take away all the food. Serve tea!"

After all the food was removed, Zhao Wen sat on the main seat, held a cup of tea, looked at Fan Zheng, and said, "When is Brother Fan going to let me go?"

Fan Zheng smiled slightly, put down the teacup in his hand, and said with a smile: "The sooner the better, if brother Zhao has nothing to do, it is naturally the best to be able to leave today."

"Our food has been pulled five miles away from Longmen Fort, and now we only need an adult to escort us. We have already prepared the rest." The middle-aged man with a mischievous face hurriedly stood up from his chair, and pulled his sleeves He took out a stack of banknotes.

This man is wearing a melon cap, which looks like a Han Chinese.The hair on the forehead is still clearly visible.

"Traitor!" Such a word suddenly popped up in Zhao Wen's mind.

This should be a person who has been in and out of Daming all year round, specializing in doing things for Jiannu.Otherwise, they would not have the long hair of the Han people.

"Here is 5000 taels of silver. As long as your lord can escort us to Jibeikou, we will give you another 5000 taels of silver."

The man held up the banknote and said sincerely.

Zhao Daniu took the silver ticket from the middle-aged man and handed it to Zhao Wen.

Zhao Wen glanced at it casually, then put the banknote on the table.

Zhao Wen squeezed his chin, and asked lightly: "There are so many soldiers and horses in the whole Xuanfu Town, why are you looking for me?"

"Back to your lord, in the entire territory of the Xuan Mansion, who doesn't know that your lord has the most powerful army? The story of beheading hundreds of Tartars has already spread throughout Daming, and I heard about it in Liaodong."

Zhao Wen narrowed his eyes and said with a smile: "I didn't expect this to spread to Liaodong? This is really beyond my expectation."

"It seems that the Jiannu in Liaodong should pay attention to me. I heard that Jiannu's intelligence work is the best. I didn't believe it at the time, but now it seems that this statement is true. I guess this matter should be That old boy, Fan Zheng, spread the word." Zhao Wen looked at the middle-aged man, and then at Fan Zheng, who was sitting beside him with an old god, and slandered.

"Since this is the case, then it's hard for me to refuse. Daniel, hurry up and get the guards to gather, and go to inform Song Hu on the way, and ask him to organize the team. This time I will only take you and him. The rest will wait. Guard the city at Longmen Castle. Tell Wang Qi and Liu Wu on the way, before I come back, everyone is not allowed to enter or leave the city gate at will."

Zhao Wen stood up and said in a deep voice to Zhao Daniu.

"In that case, let's go first." Seeing Zhao Wen's quick agreement, Fan Zheng stood up, cupped his hands at Zhao Wen, and walked out with a smile on his face.

The middle-aged man bowed his hands to Zhao Wengong and said, "My lord, we are waiting for you outside the castle, and I hope you can hurry up."

Zhao Wen waved his hand casually and said, "Understood. Xiao San, send them off for me."

Zhao Wen looked at their backs and shouted, "Put on armor!"

Several servants took Zhao Wen's fine iron armor from the shelf next to it, and began to put on the armor for Zhao Wen.

A moment later, a general appeared in the hall wearing an iron pointed helmet with eight petals, a scarlet cloak, and a goose feather knife hanging from his waist.

"Brother Zhao, you must pay attention to safety during this trip." Li Xiaoying hurried out from the side room. She looked at Zhao Wen who was fully armed, and stuffed a purse into Zhao Wen's hand.

Zhao Wen held the purse tightly, squeezed Li Xiaoying's face, and said with a smile, "In this world, no one who can hurt me has yet been born. You can rest assured."

Li Xiaoying looked at Zhao Wen, her small face was full of worry, and she said, "This pouch is a peace talisman, which my father asked for in the temple a few years ago, and it is very effective. Now, I will give it to you , I hope to keep you safe."

Zhao Wen laughed when he heard this, and said, "Your father begged for this for you, and you gave it to me so readily?"

Li Xiaoying's thoughts were pierced by Zhao Wen, her face was flushed, her ears were hot, she rolled her eyes at Zhao Wen, and then quickly ran away.

Zhao Wen looked at Li Xiaoying who was leaving, stuffed his purse tightly around his waist, and then said to Zhao Daniu, Song Hu and Li Xiaosan who were already standing in the hall: "Let's go!"

Originally, Zhao Wen was not willing to take Li Xiaosan with him, but he couldn't resist him, and Li Xiaoying also pleaded for Li Xiaosan, so Zhao Wen had no choice but to take him with him.

(End of this chapter)