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

Chapter 434 Changes in Worship
General Yu Gui of Nanshan Road invited Uncle Zhongyong to rest in Yulin Fort. Wang Dou took a look at the castle not far away. Yulin Fort is not very big. On Tuesday, it is two feet and five feet high. It belongs to Xuanfu Town together with Chadao and Liugou. Nanshan Road is under the jurisdiction, and Chen Jiugao, the commander-in-chief of Liugou, is at this time.
Wang Dou declined Yu Gui's invitation, and decided to go to the Baozhong Shrine in Shunxiangbao, Baoan Prefecture, to bury the fallen soldiers first, and then to worship the heroic spirits.
Hundreds of people were killed or injured by the Shun Township Army in the past six months in the campaign to suppress the bandits. Among them, more than a hundred people died in battle. It was impossible to transport the corpses home. They all brought back the ashes and clothes for burial. Please enter the shrine for worship .The relics of the fallen soldiers, such as armor, weapons and horses, belong to their families and are handed down from generation to generation.
There are also dead war horses buried in the same way. This is the practice of the Qi family army. After the horses die, they can only be buried. They are not allowed to be peeled and eaten.Although war horses can't speak, they are the same as sergeants. They all work hard for the country and deserve to be treated like soldiers.
In Wang Dou's army, there is another one. The horses, like the sergeants, enjoy the sacrifice of the spirit tablets in the temple. The Baozhong Temple in Shunxiang Fort has a dedicated hall for the dead horses to enjoy incense.The lieutenant generals and soldiers of the Shun Township Army have a very deep relationship with the horses, just like relatives and brothers, the casualties of the horses are just as sad.
Wang Dou's actions warmed the hearts of the soldiers and increased their sense of belonging to the army.
Hearing and hearing at this time, everyone has no objection, and Yu Gui is full of praise. Uncle Yan Zhongyong is a caring soldier. It is a blessing to be able to serve under his command.
Knowing that Yu Gui was always close to him, Wang Dou was kind to him.
Ma Guoxi regained a gentle smile on his face, and clasped his hands to Wang Dou and said: "Soldiers and soldiers sacrificed their lives for the country by killing thieves, and the subordinate officials should go to worship, and wait for the army to be stable, and then clean up the dust for Uncle Zhongyong."
Li Jinsheng and others behind him also echoed.
Wang Dou glanced at the old fox and said with a smile, "Okay."
At present, the army turned to Shunxiang Fort, followed by many people, marching all the way, people from various forts continued to flow in, forming a huge flow of people.
When the army arrived in Baoanzhou, the bridge decks at all intersections were crowded with dark local military households, cheering overwhelmingly, and the voice of "General" was endless.
Yes, Wang Dou is the pride of all the soldiers and civilians in Baoan Prefecture. As a small soldier, he eventually became a prominent general who conquered captives.However, compared with Zhongyong Bo, the soldiers and civilians in Baoan Prefecture prefer to call Wang Dou "General!" to show their closeness and familiarity.
Seeing the sincere and excited flow of people, Wang Dou's heart surged with warmth, ah, this is the East Road, his hometown, no matter how hard and tired he is outside, when he returns home, with the worship and support of these soldiers and civilians, he will not be in vain This life.
There are more and more people following the army, and finally there are no fewer than 20 people. Looking at these crowds, the generals on the east road are Li Jinsheng who is guarding Yanqing Prefecture, Huang Changyi who is guarding Huailai, Xu Zucheng who is guarding Baoan City, and Wang Yide who is guarding Yongning City. , These generals who are not in the Shunxiang army system for the time being, also feel excited.
Ma Guoxi, Huailong's soldier, still had a friendly smile on his face, only complicated expressions flashed in his eyes, and Wu Zhi, the magistrate of Yanqing Prefecture, was still expressionless, but his face twitched from time to time.
Surrounded by soldiers and civilians, Wang Dou led his army to Shunxiang Fort.
At this time, the defense officer of Shunxiang Fort was Wang Dou's old boss Zhong Dayong. When he got the news, he led all the officials in the fort several miles to meet him.
The former chief Jia of Jingbiandun, after seeing Wang Dou's development momentum, resolutely approached Wang Dou, and was quite diligent in his work. He also recommended Long Kun, a chicken breeder, to Wang Dou, and was finally reused by Wang Dou. The defense officer of Shun Township Fort.
Looking at Wang Dou, Zhong Daxin could only be thankful and proud. His former subordinate, the pawn army, finally became a famous loyal and brave uncle, and became an unattainable existence.
All the members of the shogunate rushed to Shunxiang Fort at this time, as well as the families of the soldiers who died in the Baozhong Shrine, and the families of the soldiers who died recently, all gathered outside the Fort Shunxiang.
Wang Dou did not delay, the army turned to Busan, and buried the urns of the fallen soldiers amidst the sound of mourning and joy. Wang Dou and the officers personally shoveled the soil, and Ma Guoxi, regardless of his old age and infirmity, was also busy with Wang Dou.
After the burial, the subsequent repairs and erection of plaques, etc., will be handled by the officials of Baozhong Shrine.
After the spirit card is entered into the temple, the grand worship ceremony begins.
The major event of the country lies in the sacrificial and military affairs!Sacrifice is one of the two most important events in the country that was paralleled with the military in ancient times. Throughout the dynasties, there has been a strict national sacrificial system, generally there are two.The first is the central court sacrificial system, which is divided into major sacrifices, middle sacrifices, and minor sacrifices.The second is the local sacrificial system, with sacrificial offerings at the provincial, prefectural, prefecture, and county levels.
When the Baozhong Temple was first established, Wang Dou only found some monks and priests to chant the scriptures. After that, he offered sacrifices with great joy and rituals of the country, set up priests, and the Baozhong Temple enjoyed provincial-level treatment.Rituals of sacrificial offerings, sacrificial music, sacrificial procedures, etc. are carried out meticulously, and the accompaniment of music and dance is solemn and grand.
The sacrifices and sacrificial vessels were set up, and the chief priest shouted: "The worship begins, let's have fun!"
Another accompanying priest shouted: "Dance!"
Gold, stone, earth, leather, silk, wood, pagoda, bamboo, the eight tones are struck one by one, in the deep elegant music, music and dance are born, or holding a gong, or holding a sheng, or holding a chi, the music and dance are combined, gracefully dance.
At the same time, in the large square outside the temple, including Wang Dou, all the soldiers saluted with swords and guns, and chanted in unison: "Shuntu raises his sword, rides his horse to fix the area, the general star circles around, the warrior moon bends... …The loyal and brave soldiers will never fade through the eons, the heaven and the earth are dark and yellow, and the true spirit will always exist..."
The sound of gold and jade, the elegant and melodious sound of Yayue, the grand scene of dancers, and tens of thousands of people singing together, are full of shocking appeal.
In the ode, not to mention the soldiers in the field, but also the people watching, all burst into tears.Many Xiangyang scholars and commoners who accompanied the army and watched were even more weeping. Many people said: "If you sacrifice like this, even if you die in battle, you will not be wronged."
After the dance and music stopped, Wang Dou and the generals and officials entered the hall, offered incense in front of the god's throne, and all the family members who died in battle paid their respects next to them.
The faces of the family members are both sad and proud. Isn't it sad that the man in the family died in battle?However, the spirit tablet can be worshiped in the Baozhong Temple, and it is warm and proud in the heart. The man in the family did not die in vain.
Wang Dou came to Han Zhong's spirit card, looked at the portrait behind the spirit card, recalled every bit of that day, and felt sad. He burned incense and worshiped several times.
Han Zhong's widow Li Xiaoniang led her son Han Hou to answer the ceremony, and her sister-in-law Zheng Niangzi.
Wang Dou looked at Miss Li. She is only 20 years old this year, and she has a child who is less than five years old. How will she live the long days ahead?
Wang Dou said softly: "Brother Han and I are as close as brothers, Mrs. Han, if you have any difficulties, just tell me."
Miss Li's pretty eyes were reddish, and she bowed in a low voice: "Thank you for your care, General, I have no problems, I just want to take Hou'er quietly, observe the festival for Han Zhong, and bring up the child."
Wang Dou sighed, "Okay."
Looking at her son Han Hou again, the child had a tiger head and a swallow jaw, which was exactly the same as Han Zhong, and said, "You really look like your father."
The child was not afraid of life, looked at Wang Dou and said, "General, why are you crying? Don't cry, don't cry, Hou'er told mother that when Hou'er grows up, he will follow the general to kill Tartars and avenge his father .”
Wang Dou choked up and said, "Good boy."
Tears could not help but flow down.
Li Guangheng looked at his daughter and grandson, his eyes were red, and tears welled up.
All the generals comforted Wang Dou and the two, while Ma Guoxi, who was in charge of Huailong's army, sighed.
Wang Dou also put incense on the Tongling tablet of Wude General Yang, and his widow, Mrs. Liu, thought about it very well. Apart from raising a few children, she followed Xie Xiuniang's side, doing some things to help the refugees and the elderly, and she lived a good life full.Seeing her like this, Wang Dou felt a little relieved.
After the incense ceremony, in front of all the soldiers and civilians, Wang Dou personally presented the relics and armor to the widows of the families who died in battle, and sent money and rice to them one by one. Each family's land will also be exempted from tax for three years.From now on, their small family will be the first recipients of assistance from the plowing team and the mutual aid society. During the holidays, the army will come down to condolences.
The entire worship ceremony was sad and tragic. Only Ma Guoxi sighed in his heart. He saw the hearts of the soldiers and the people of the East Road were more united.Your Majesty, I am ashamed that I cannot make the people on the East Road turn to the court.
……
Later, Wang Dou offered incense at the Yimin Temple near the Baozhong Shrine. After the worship ceremony, Wang Dou inspected the inside and outside of Shunxiang Fort.
Shunxiang Fort has become a prosperous city with a population of nearly [-] inside and outside the fort. It connects Zijingguan, Mashuikou, Meiyusuo, Baoanzhou, and Weizhou. .What was once a remote city of thousands of households has become a veritable million households.
There are many sergeants and officers in Shunxiang Fort. The soldiers are away in battle, and there are many women and children in the family. Therefore, this Fort is the key aid target of the Baoan Prefecture Farming Team and Mutual Aid Society.
According to Zhong Dayong, the plowing teams in this state are all selected by young and strong refugees. Every time the farming is busy, such as planting, threshing, cutting, picking stalks, etc., the plowing teams will go to the forts to work in exchange for wages and rations. A stable rule has been formed, even if the soldiers are away in battle, there is no need to worry about no one farming the fields at home.
Since someone does the heavy work on the farmland, these family members are mostly involved in mining, animal husbandry, business operations, etc., and live a comfortable life.
The people of Shun Xiangbao had the highest level of education on the East Road, and they supported Wang Dou the most.
Wang Dou felt relieved, he could never forget the numb and desperate expressions of the military households when he first served as the defense officer of Shun Township Fort, Wang Dou felt a sense of accomplishment in his heart that he could change their lives.
Now the land of Baoanzhou is also the economic center of Donglu. Because every family has surplus food and households have surplus money, and the bank controlled by the financial secretary encourages investment in industry and lends money at low interest rates, so there are many shops and factories in the state.
Especially in Shunxiang Fort, although the military industry moved to Yongning, there are many mountainous pastures in the surrounding area, so there are many cattle farms, pig farms, chicken farms, and duck farms in the territory, providing a large amount of meat and eggs for the East Road. At the same time, various processing industries are developed. , A lot of bacon, bacon, ham, salted eggs are made, and even canned.
It is said that science and technology in ancient times should not be underestimated. When the environment was fertile and good, the vast number of merchants and common people would arouse their greatest enthusiasm for invention, and canned food is one of them.But the Ming Dynasty did not call it canned food, it was called meat porcelain jar. "Qi Min Yao Shu" once recorded: "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."
This is the ancient canned food, which can also preserve food for a long time.
With the army as a big customer, there are many people who sell meat porcelain jars on Donglu.
The most feared thing about running a livestock farm is the plague, so Donglu veterinarians are very popular. Inspired by the military factory, many veterinarians recruited apprentices to teach their skills without reservation.
After the apprentice leaves the teacher, every time he earns, he needs to pay some money to the teacher. These teachers only need to sit and collect the money. The more apprentices they teach, the more money they receive. What they do is strongly supported by the Commercial Division of the Department of Civil Affairs.All walks of life attract trends. In later generations, technical schools and night schools are popular.
Plowing teams, mining teams, blacksmithing teams, quarrying teams, road construction teams, sewing girls... Due to the development of commerce, there are many migrant workers in Baoan Prefecture, and the embryonic form of the working class has emerged.
Wang Dou was delighted, prosperity is good, as long as the tax can be raised, the more prosperous the business, the better.If the tax system is good and commerce is developed, it is benign. On the contrary, if commerce is prosperous, if the tax is not collected, it will be deformed and not beneficial to the country, just like Jiangnan in the late Ming Dynasty.
Satisfied, Wang Dou left Shun Township Fort.

(End of this chapter)