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

Chapter 214 Changping
On the eighth day of October in the 11th year of Chongzhen, early in the morning.

After Xie Xiuniang served Wang Dou to get up, she personally put on armor for him one by one. It was Wang Dou's suit of armor captured from the Baya soldiers of the Qing Dynasty in the seventh year of Chongzhen. The armor leaves were all made of fine iron and painted with silver. The white nail paint makes the whole set of armor look silvery and very dazzling, and it also has the function of protecting rain and rust.

And that heavy sword was also captured by Wang Dou that year.This is Wang Dou's first honor in battle, so he has been using this set of armor until now.Only the helmet with the tall lightning rod was changed, and it was replaced with an iron helmet of the Ming army's general style.

Red tasseled phoenix wings, scarf and neck protector are available. Before putting on the iron helmet, Wang Dou puts on a warm woolen cap, which is the equipment that all lieutenant generals of Wang Dou's army have.Finished off with a thick wool coat, bright red in color.

Seeing that Xie Xiuniang's eyes were red, she looked reluctant and worried, Wang Dou hugged her small and exquisite body, and said softly: "Xiuniang, don't worry, I will come back safely."

Xie Xiuniang forced a smile and said, "I believe that Xianggong is an auspicious person. Xiuniang will take care of the children at home and take good care of her mother-in-law. Xianggong only needs to go out to fight with peace of mind, and don't have to worry about the family."

When they left the room, they saw Ji Junjiao wearing pure white sable fur, standing quietly outside the door for an unknown how long, when she saw Wang Dou coming out, she smiled at him without saying anything, and together with Xie Xiuniang, Accompanied by Wang Dou from left to right.

When she came to the lobby, her mother, Zhong, was sitting in front of the hall and waiting. The two daughters, Liu Qing and Liu Ji, were behind her, rubbing her shoulders and backs, and the table was already filled with a hearty breakfast.

Seeing Wang Dou coming out, Zhong's expression was very calm, and he said, "Dou'er, everything is packed? Let's eat."

After everyone finished their breakfast quietly, several members of the Zhong family sent Wang Dou out of the mansion. Xie Yike led a group of personal guards and waited outside the door. Many people gathered outside the mansion. The Chu family also stood quietly among the crowd, as well as the young lady who knew the prefecture.

When Wang Dou came out, there was a commotion among everyone, but they didn't speak.

When he got on his horse before leaving, Wang Dou looked at his old mother, and couldn't hold back the excitement in his heart anymore.He lifted the scarlet cloak behind him, knelt down in front of his mother on one knee, and said with a sob: "Mother, the child is gone."

Zhong's eyes were also red, and she said loudly: "Son, just go, don't be a mother-in-law, my old bones can still hold up. Our royal family has fought for Ming Dynasty for generations, show your manliness, don't Losing the face of our ancestors, my mother is looking forward to your return in victory."

Wang Dou looked at Xie Xiuniang and Ji Junjiao again, Xie Xiuniang was just reluctant and worried, but Ji Junjiao smiled sweetly at Wang Dou, her eyes were full of encouragement and tenderness.

Wang Dou never looked back, and got on his horse and left. Xie Xiuniang watched Wang Dou's figure disappear, Ji Junjiao held her arm and said: "Sister, my husband is a great hero, a great hero, and he went out to fight. It's just a matter of leisure. We Just stay in the mansion and wait for his good news to return."

Xie Xiuniang said: "Sister, tomorrow I want to go to Shun Fort to see those orphans, to relieve my worries."

Ji Junjiao said, "I'll go with my sister."

……

When Wang Dou came out of the city, a big flag with the word "King" went first, followed by dozens of strong flag bearers in iron armor as guards, and their iron hooves knocked on the bluestone street, rumbling.Along the way, the streets were densely packed with civilians from military households who saw Wang Dou's banner approaching, and everyone silently saluted and followed silently.

After leaving Baoanzhou City, there are huge crowds of people outside the city, including military households and civilians who sent their children off to fight. and go.

Seeing Wang Dou Daqi approaching, they all looked over with reverence.In this battle, Baoan Prefecture almost went all out to fight thousands of miles away, just for Wang Dou's order, and everyone did not hesitate.

At the Martial Arts Hall in the southeast of the city, Chi Dacheng, the governor of the town, arrived with his disciplined sergeants, followed by generals and sergeants, all wearing armor, and lined up neatly on the teaching ground. After an unknown amount of time, Chi Dacheng said: "General, the time has come."

Wang Dou said: "Come on."

Chi Dacheng said: "The last general takes orders."

He opened the military booklet and raised his voice to inspect the soldiers. One by one, the generals came to the stage to take orders and report the sergeants in his department.From Han Zhong and Wen Fangliang, the two generals who accompanied the army to the battle, as well as the artillery team directly led by the battalion to control the general Zhao Xuan, the luggage team to control the general Zhong Yang, and the cavalry team to control the general Li Guangheng and others, all without exception.

Finally, Chi Dacheng reported to Wang Dou: "General, there are 500 soldiers on the expedition, and all of them have arrived."

When Wang Dou walked to the front of the stage, the densely packed soldiers, all of them were holding their weapons tightly and watching him quietly.Looking at the simple and respectful faces, Wang Dou's heart was full of excitement. He suddenly pulled out his sharp sword, slanted his front finger, rolled across the earth like spring thunder, and shouted overwhelmingly: "Wan Sheng, Wan Sheng!" , Wansheng."

Everyone was shouting hoarsely, and the majestic Wan Sheng's voice resounded inside and outside Baoan City one wave after another.

Wang Dou shouted loudly, "Let's march."

Wang Dou led the flag to open the way, and behind him was a large group of troops marching neatly. After leaving the teaching ground, the official road from Baoanzhou City to Acropolis was already densely packed with people who were sending off. Crackling firecrackers exploded, all kinds of gongs and drums blared, and an old man said loudly: "I wish the general a victory."

There was a sky-shattering cheer, and every citizen cheered loudly for the soldiers who went out.

Seeing all this, Wang Dou's eyes were a little moist. These people gathered spontaneously and sent them off spontaneously. The soldiers and civilians are like this, which is worthy of their painstaking efforts in Baoan Prefecture for many years.

He silently waved his hands, and one by one the marching soldiers, with their heads held high, passed through the walls on both sides.

When they arrived at the Yanghe River, Li Zhenyu, the magistrate of Baoan Prefecture, led a group of officials to see him off here. Seeing Wang Dou's army approaching, thousands of strong soldiers of all colors, a sea of ​​armor, and densely packed chariots and luggage, there were many people. Everyone was moved, Wang Dou did not hide his strength at this time, and everyone he saw was surprised.

Li Zhenzhen took a glass of wine and said loudly: "I wish the general a smooth journey and a successful battle."

Last night Li Zhenyu led the gentry in the city to host a banquet to see Wang Dou off, and today he came to see him off again, and Wang Dou took the wine and drank it all down.

Zhengfu Mingqi, a Confucianist in Baoan Prefecture, also took a glass of wine and said to Wang Dou, "Brother, have a good journey and a smooth battle."

Looking at his old friend, Wang Dou nodded silently, led the army, and rolled forward again.

……

When they arrived at the Acropolis, Xu Zucheng, the defender of the Acropolis, also led the officials of the city to wait outside the city to see him off. Seeing Wang Dou's army, he was also deeply moved.Wang Dou was originally his subordinate, but now he is at the same level as him, and his position is even higher than that of Da Ming Guerrilla General.

He could only lament Wang Dou's official luck. Seeing the sturdy soldiers behind Wang Dou, all of them had high morale. He didn't know how Wang Dou practiced. Dou ask for advice.

"General, the civil fort is ahead."

Wen Daxing, the head of Yebubu Baibai, came to report to Wang Dou.

Even when he was marching, Wang Dou rode out everywhere at night, collecting news ahead at any time.

Calculated and walked nearly a hundred miles today, the marching effect is good, not to mention that all members are still wearing armor.According to the military laws of the Ming Dynasty, all armor must be fully equipped for marching, and armor can only be removed when camping. Therefore, when Wang Dou's entire army is marching, everyone is also wearing armor.

Yesterday, Ji Shiwei's armor for Wang Dou was ready. There were [-] pairs of iron armor and [-] pairs of cotton armor inlaid with iron leaves. The outside of each pair of armor was painted with red armor paint. In a large piece of dazzling red light.Wearing red armor and military uniforms, every sergeant looks extremely energetic. It seems that the Ming Army's Red Army and the nickname of Chi Ji are not casual.

Wang Douji had checked that this batch of armor was excellent, and he definitely didn't worry about shooting two eyes. He expected that Governor Ji would have to bear a lot of pressure when he approved these armors.

With this batch of armor, except for the soldiers in the army who wore mandarin duck war jackets and iron net boots, every soldier, artillery, cavalry, everyone was wearing armor, or cotton armor, or iron armor. The red fleece coat is not only thick and warm, but also looks like a military man.

At this speed, Wang Dou estimated that it would take only a few days to reach Changping to join the reinforcements. In fact, Wang Dou felt that his army could go faster, if it wasn't for the artillery and baggage teams that slowed down the speed.

Wang Dou used Yebushou as the sharp knife, Han Zhong as the vanguard, his battalion as the central army, Wen Fangliang as the rear army, and all the supplies and artillery teams followed behind his central army.The weather in October in Daming is already quite cold, and sometimes small snowflakes will fall, which will melt immediately when the wind blows, only freezing the road hard.

The road is not easy to walk, but fortunately most of the vehicles of the baggage team and the artillery team are pulled by mules, and only the sergeants who push the wheelbarrows suffer.

With the weight of the vehicle itself and hundreds of catties of grain and grass on it, it was quite hard work to push it all the way.Fortunately, they were all equipped with gloves, and they also had red wool overcoats on the outside. Compared with other Ming army troops, they were already considered comfortable.

With these supplies and artillery, it is inevitable that the marching speed of the sergeants will be affected.

When Wang Dou looked at it, it was almost evening, and then he looked at the map. There was a river in front of him, and he said, "You don't need to go into the civil fort, let's set up camp by the river."

After the order of Wang Dou was handed down, all the soldiers set up camp immediately when they reached the river, dug trenches on the spot, took out tents, distributed the camp area, dug drainage ditches and public toilets, etc.There were no trees felled in the surrounding area, and Wang Dou would not bring any timber for the march, so no temporary wooden walls were built around the barracks, and only night watch sergeants were arranged to patrol along the four trenches and set night numbers.

In addition, there were heavy soldiers taking out a large bag of barbed wire and throwing it along the critical places on all sides.

These caltrops are all made by Shunxiangbao Weaponry Factory, and they are made of pig iron. Because of the mold, the casting is very fast.Caltrops are like triangular nails. When they fall on the ground, one side always faces up. They are very sharp.Moreover, they are connected in series with thin iron chains, which are very convenient to deploy and withdraw, and are also widely used in the Ming army.

Camping in the field Shun Township's army has been trained many times, so they set up their camps in an orderly manner. Wang Dou's army is strict, even if they are marching in the interior, setting up camps is just like in wartime.Soon, a complete camp appeared in front of everyone.

The smoke from the kitchen was curling up, and the pots and stoves were set up one by one. The soldiers who had worked hard all day talked and laughed loudly around the pots and stoves. There was also one of the sergeants who was also a soldier, eating hot noodles and pancakes, and some dried meat, etc., and everyone was refreshed.

Wang Dou led his personal guards to patrol the barracks for a week. The soldiers were in good condition and did not feel any discomfort. Even if there were any, there were doctors in his army.

Wang Dou also went around the place where the baggage vehicles and gun carts were parked. Those chariots were very thick, and hundreds of them ran for a day, but nothing happened.Those carriages, on the wheelbarrows, were full of grain and grass, in addition to a large amount of gunpowder, shells, etc., and other types of luggage, covered with thick oilcloth, and the carriages had canopies.

These supplies of food and grass are the life support of his army. Wang Dou can imagine that the most difficult thing to deal with when going out is the supply of food and grass.With Daming's situation, he could only rely on himself for the food and grass of his army.Now the food and grass that I bring is not enough to feed [-] people for a month. In the future, I have to think of ways to supply food and grass.

Wang Dou also looked at the cannons of the artillery team. Each cannon was covered with a cannon coat, which was not afraid of rain and snow.The heaviest of these cannons was no more than four hundred catties, and they were easily carried by mules and horses. This was the case with Daming's Buddha Wolf machine cannons, which were mainly light and medium-sized.Although the field battle is less powerful, at least it is much more mobile than the Hongyi Cannon.

There is also a Yuanrong chariot and a Wanggan chariot in the chariot. The Yuanrong chariot needs to be pulled by two horses, and it is used as a command car for Wang Dou when he is facing the enemy.As for the lookout cart, it was composed of two chariots in wartime, and each cart needed two horses to pull it. However, a tall lookout pole was erected in wartime, and you could see the enemy's situation for more than ten miles around. It is also worth traveling thousands of miles.

After turning around, Wang Doucai came back and called together the two generals Han Zhong and Wen Fangliang who were going on an expedition, the commanders-in-chief of several subordinates, as well as Chi Dacheng, the direct commander of the battalion, Zhong Tiaoyang, Zhao Xuan, Li Guangheng, Xie Yike, etc. People, eating in their big tent, everyone gathered around a big pot, chatting while eating, it was quite lively.

Li Guangheng didn't lift the felt curtain until everyone had eaten for a while, and hurried in. His cavalrymen each had horses, and those horses were not easy to serve.The cavalry team has a 200-person baggage team to manage the horses and horse feed, as well as several veterinarians and sergeants who specialize in nailing and protecting horseshoes.

Those cavalrymen had a deep bond with their horses, and they were dedicated to take care of them. After each set up camp, they had to take a walk around before they could rest assured. The same was true for Li Guangheng.

Wen Fangliang put a piece of jerky into the pot to cook, and ate deliciously with the flatbread. Seeing Li Guangheng came back, he said with a smile, "Old Li, if you don't come back, your son-in-law will go looking for you."

Li Guangheng glared at Wen Fangliang. He had a fiery temper and was rigid and serious, so he really couldn't take jokes.Not to mention the embarrassing fact that the son-in-law has a higher official position than the father-in-law, and Li Guangheng doesn't want others to mention it.

But Wen Fangliang's military rank was higher than his, and in front of Wang Dou, Li Guangheng's temper was so hot, how could he get angry?He bowed to Wang Dou and found a seat to sit down.

Wen Fangliang found his father-in-law happy, so Han Zhong, as his son-in-law, naturally wanted to help out, and he shouted: "Old Wen, you have married many wives and concubines in recent years, and you have a lot of daughters. I just gave birth to a son. It’s better to have one son marry your three daughters.”

Everyone laughed, Wen Fangliang and Gao Xun are both beautiful men in Wang Doujun, they are not as dedicated as Gao Xun, Wen Fangliang is quite romantic.He is beautiful, has a high official position, and his family has a lot of money, so women from other families are willing to marry him.

In the past few years, Wen Fangliang took in several concubines, and gave birth to a lot of sons and daughters. At a young age, he had five sons and three daughters.

Wen Fangliang is easy to play with others. After hearing Han Zhong's words, he was not angry, but just smiled and said: "Old Han, look at your son's skin and tender flesh, he looks like your son, how can his body bear three bones?" A woman? It is enough for me, Old Wen, to take out a daughter to deal with your son."

Han Zhong shouted: "This marriage is settled like this."

Wang Dou smiled, it was like this in the Ming army, the relationship between each other was intricate, and there were many marriages, no, Han Zhongji and Wen Fangliang became in-laws during the talk.

In fact, since Wang Dou gave birth to his son Wang Zheng, all the officers under his command have been probing intentionally or unconsciously, hoping to marry Wang Dou. Ruyun, but he didn't reveal the slightest hint.

And as the generals under his command got married one after another, a fairly solid interest group had been formed among them, and marriage with each other was one kind.

Li Guangheng glanced at Wen Fangliang, and his expression softened. With Mr. Wen Qian's status, his grandson and his daughter were a good match, and this marriage was a good one.Han Zhong is a shrewd kid sometimes.

Yang Tong joked: "Old Han is in a good mood, is it because your wife has served you comfortably these days?"

Everyone laughed wildly.

Although Wang Dou's army is strictly hierarchical, the superior has absolute authority over his subordinates, and everyone respects and fears Wang Dou even more.But in the Wang Dou Banquet, there is no distinction between superiority and inferiority, which is one of the reasons why everyone feels relaxed and happy in front of Wang Dou.

Yang Tong is now a subordinate of Han Zhong's department, but the two of them can be regarded as old brothers in Huo Ludun, and they were in the Wang Dou Banquet, so they spoke without scruples and joked loudly.

Because of the upcoming battle, Mrs. Han, who is very strict with Han Zhong on weekdays, is rare to be gentle and considerate. Even Han Zhong laughs at seeing beautiful women on the street, which makes Han Zhong have a good life for a few days.Hearing the people's wild laughter and teasing, he was not ashamed, but rather proud, and said loudly: "It's very comfortable, this is called a man's blessing."

Everyone burst into laughter again, the officers and generals in Wang Dou's army were basically from a rough background, and they liked this kind of topic very much.

In the crowd, Zhong Tiaoyang just smiled and listened to the laughter of everyone.Zhao Xuan is a technical talent, not interested in this kind of dirty jokes, but he likes this atmosphere very much, there is a feeling of camaraderie, which was not in the army before.

The governor of the town, Chi Dacheng, sat expressionlessly, drinking his own broth without a sip. If the military does not involve military discipline and law, it is difficult to attract his attention to other things.

And Xie Yike looked at Wen Fangliang and Han Zhong with some envy. He married Miss Chu. The posture, Miss Chu was shy and embarrassed for a long time, and she dared not cooperate no matter what.

I still don't have any good luck, Xie Yike sighed inwardly.

Sun Sanjie laughed along with everyone, he was always cautious, and he was tall and thick, but he had a sissy voice, every time he opened his mouth, he always made people snicker.If it was not necessary, Sun Sanjie would not speak easily.

Seeing the laughter of the crowd, Wang Dou watched with a smile. He hoped, he hoped, that the brothers in his tent would come back alive and safe during this expedition.

……

Early the next morning, Wang Dou set off from his camp. All the troops put on their helmets and armor, stepped on horseback and strode forward.Behind the battalion headquarters of the Chinese army, there are still many soldiers pushing the wheelbarrow of the supply, driving the carriage of grain and grass, followed by the artillery cart.

Generally speaking, the road from Baoanzhou to Changping is not bad. It seldom passes through any mountainous areas, and they are all plain official roads.The army passed through Huailai all the way, and the territory of Yanqing, until they entered the boundary of Juyongguan, the road became difficult.However, at the marching speed of the Shunxiang Army, on October 11, [-] in Chongzhen, all [-] soldiers arrived at the city of Yong'an in Changping, and none of them were left behind.

……

Changping Town is one of the many military towns in the Ming Dynasty, mainly guarding Juyongguan and various imperial tombs.

Changping was originally Changping County. With the increase of imperial tombs, the number of guards increased. In the first year of Jingtai, the Ming Dynasty built Yong'an City and set up Yong'an Camp in Bali east of Changping County.Afterwards, the guardian guards of the hills moved into the city, and then the Changping County Government and the Confucianism Warehouse moved in one after another.Soon a new city was built in the south of Yong'an City, and the two cities were connected together to become the new Yong'an City, with a circumference of ten miles and 24 steps.

During the Zhengde period, Changping was upgraded to a prefecture, and it came under the jurisdiction of Shuntianfu.In the 17th year of Jiajing, Gonghua City was built in Shahe, Changping. The city is two miles long from north to south and from east to west.

During the Wanli period, Changping was upgraded to a prefecture, with a general army and a deputy general army guarding it, as well as Changping soldiers for military affairs, eunuchs and eunuchs guarding the mausoleum.In mid-July of the ninth year of Chongzhen, due to the internal response of Duoyan Mongolian soldiers, Yong'an City was breached by Qing soldiers. Surrender the Qing soldiers.

In view of this, the Ming Dynasty increased the defensive forces of Nanshan Road in Xuanfu Town and Changping Town, which were used as important fences to defend the Jingling. Minister of the Ministry of War, temporarily acting as Xuanda Governor Lu Xiangsheng dispatched in moderation.

At this time, banners and flags spread all over Yong'an City, densely packed with military camps, and the camps set up by tens of thousands of soldiers were boundless, as if there was no end in sight.

Looking at the majestic Yong'an City figure on the horizon, and the endless military tents, Wang Dou breathed out slowly: "Finally we're here."

※※※

Old Bai Niu: It snowed heavily the day before yesterday, but yesterday there was no power but the Internet was cut off, and the manuscript could not be published after it was written.

The Internet is still disconnected until now. This chapter was uploaded to an Internet cafe. I don’t know if the Internet will be restored today.

(End of this chapter)