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

Chapter 438 Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

The "yes" word Nuanpu has become a bustling town. After Wang Dou ordered that all post stations in the territory can operate independently, all post stations on the East Road are full of vitality.
The function of the post station’s military post remains the same, but next to the post station, it also specializes in various livelihood projects, such as inns, tea houses, restaurants, warehouses, horse shops, etc. There are many types, providing services for passing guests and transporting goods.
Traveling and transporting goods is a hard demand of the military and civilians, and no one can avoid it.The post station on the East Road, and now these people’s livelihood projects are all cooperated by post officials and postmen with various businessmen, and part of the profits are handed over to the financial secretary of the shogunate every year, and the Shunxiang Army provides them with protection.
The postmen who were so poor in the past are now earning a lot of money, and the postmen who fled before have all returned.Even postmen outside the East Road came to the territory one after another to make a living, but it was a pity that Li Zicheng rebelled early, otherwise he would definitely come here to find a job when he heard about the current situation of the East Road.
Of course, Wang Dou would not forget the most important functions of the post station, flying to report to the horses and delivering official documents. Only the function of delivering envoys was greatly reduced by him.This is also the biggest reason why the post station is in trouble. Eating and drinking with public funds and private use of public vehicles have been banned repeatedly in later generations, let alone in the Ming Dynasty?
In fact, the Ming Dynasty has always had strict regulations on the use of stage horses, and the Ministry of War issued very few Kanhe.However, there are policies at the top and countermeasures at the bottom. The high-ranking officials and powerful people are not worthy, and you are asked to provide horses. Do you dare to refuse?
In the second year of Chongzhen, Liu Mao once rectified the post office during the incident. He also had a public heart, but he offended all the officials in the whole country. Why?Many officials of the Ming Dynasty were exactly those who profited from the post.In the end, a large number of postmen who had lost their food and clothing rebelled, and Liu Mao did not die well, and even the coffin could not be hired by one person to carry it.
Wang Dou's strict standards for the use of stage horses will inevitably offend many people, but Wang Dou has offended many people, so he doesn't care how many more people he offends.There is no threat to the Jingbian army on the East Road, and the generals dare not say anything. Foreign officials can only hire carriages and horses at the post station. They want to eat, live, and play for nothing.
……
Chen Sheng and others walked into a car dealership called "Qing Tianfu" next to Nuanpu. The square in front of the dealership was large, filled with all kinds of ox carts and horse-drawn carts, and not far away was the official road.
Next to the car dealership is a "Minxin Bureau", which is a kind of private post office. It appeared as early as the Yongle period, and it was mostly in the south of the Yangtze River.
Chen Sheng looked around, the car dealership and the Civil Information Bureau were full of restaurants, inns, and various shops.At this time, carriages and horses came in and out, carrying customers and goods, and some brothers from the ministry among them had already boarded the carriages and returned home.
Seeing Chen Sheng and others coming, a chubby steward came to greet him in person, and he cupped his hands with a smile on his face: "Welcome, welcome, welcome all the soldiers to return from victory. I don't know which warm shop you are going to? Or to Yanqing and Huailai?"
A shrewd brother in middle class A said: "I'll wait until Huai arrives, how much money does one need?"
The chubby steward took out a sign and said with a smile: "There are prices on it, and the charge is different for each warm shop you pass. You are all soldiers. According to regulations, you can get a [-]% discount."
Chen Sheng and the others took the price list and looked at it, which read: "Ten miles is the limit, the fee for each warm shop is [-]%, and the active serviceman is [-]%."
Chen Sheng calculated in his mind that Yongning had to go through more than a dozen post stations to Huailai, and one person would need about six or seven liters of food stamps.
The smart brother in Jiazhong said: "You won't accept us at this price, will you?"
The chubby steward clapped his legs and said, "Ah, my lord, this price was determined by the Department of Civil Affairs and the commercial company. The black-faced Baogong from the Zhenfu Department comes here to find fault with him from time to time. Who dares to raise the price? We can't punish you." Get up."
He turned back and pointed to a sign hanging at the door of the car dealership, on which were written the words "Model Supporting the Army": "Besides, the proprietor Lai of our Qingtianfu Commercial Bank has a deep friendship with the general, and is now the owner of the Zhendong Commercial Bank. How could the vice-chairman who was on the side of the general do such a dishonest thing when he shoveled traitors on the east road back then?"
Chen Sheng said, "That's all, let's take this price."
Among Jia, apart from Chief Jia, Chen Sheng had the highest prestige. When he said this, all the brothers stopped talking.
Chen Sheng asked: "Boss, do you have any horses and carriages that go directly to Huailai Mountain? I'd like to hire two."
The plump manager was a little embarrassed: "I'm sorry, that's the business boundary of another car dealership, so I can't pass by."
After negotiating, the nine of Chen Cheng hired two carriages from the "Qing Tian Fu" car dealership, and headed west along the official road.
Chen Sheng and Ju Yiwu were in the same carriage, looking out of the carriage from time to time, feeling joyful in their hearts, riding in the carriage, the former self had never enjoyed it a few times, but now he can go home in a beautiful way.
Because the road is easy to walk, the carriage does not bump when driving, Chen Sheng said: "The road surface has changed a lot."
Ju Yiwu hummed: "It's very big."
The coachman heard it from the front, and said with a smile: "Before the general came to the east road, the road... Tsk tsk, it's full of dust and potholes, it's really a pain, it's better now."
He slapped his whip and sang a folk song: "Oh... my wife has many stars and moons in the sky, and a snow-white rooster is as good as a goose. When I cook porridge, I still use rice from my own field. If I am sick, I still need it." Dear wife..."
The official road meanders along the Qingshui River, passing post stations one after another. Sometimes the coachman stops to let the horses drink water and eat some beans. After passing three post stations, they have arrived in Yanqing Prefecture.The crowd didn't stop, and continued to come and go.
That night, everyone rested in an inn next to a post station. The next day, the chariots and horses arrived at the city of Huailai.In later generations, Huailai City sank under the Guanting Reservoir, but at this time it was a big city along the way. In Zhou Qili, Huailong's army was stationed in Dao Ma Guoxi.
Huailai City has three gates in the east, south and west. The east gate is called "Mingjing Gate", and there is a post station not far from the gate.Fifteen miles to the west of the city, there is another Yizi Nuanpu, and 25 miles to the west of the city, there is an old-fashioned Nuanpu.35 miles to the west of the city, there is Nuanpu with the word Chen, and there is also a large civil post station, and to Xuanzhen Town, there is also a chicken post.
The inn near Mingjing Gate is called Kaizi Nuanpu. When they arrived here, Chen Sheng separated from his brother Jiazhong. He and Ju Yiwu hired a carriage at the car dealership near Nuanpu and headed for Fanshanbao.
The two lived together in a fort called Fansanbao, surrounded by other forts such as Fanwu, Fanliu, and Fanqi.
The carriage traveled westward, passed the west gate of Huailai City for several miles, turned westward into another road, but it was smaller than the previous road, and walked onto the county road.
According to Wang Dou's regulations and the planning of the Department of Civil Affairs, the roads in the East Road are divided into three classes.The roads between the cities are first-class standards, called official roads, paved with sand and stones, mixed with lime mud water, trees on both sides, and pavilions every five miles.
Within the prefecture and county guard, the road from the city to Dabao, or between Dabao and Dabao is the county road.
The road between Dabao and Tunpu is a country road, a sandy soil road, and two cars and horses can run in parallel.
Chen Sheng and Ju Yiwu passed Fanshanbao in a carriage, and turned to the country road of Fansanbao. Since the road was covered with gravel and fine sand, the dust was not heavy, and the driving was relatively smooth. It was much better than the potholed dirt roads in the previous villages. .
There are many fields beside the township road, where various crops are planted, and irrigation wells can be seen everywhere. The closer he gets to Sansanbao, the stronger the beating of Chen Sheng's heart, he really wants to see his child.
At this time, there are not many people in the fields during the slack season. Presumably, the people in Tunbao are trying to find ways to do part-time jobs outside, especially in Sanbao, which is close to Heishan Temple, where there are many livestock farms, mines, and processing factories, and there are too many job opportunities. up.
But at this time it was not far from Youshi, the closer to Sanbao, the more people walking on the country road, everyone must have returned from work.
Seeing the carriage passing by, especially the two of them, Chen Sheng and the Sanbao people who knew each other looked at each other in surprise: "Chen Guanren, Ju Guanren is back? They are still riding in the carriage and returning home in fine clothes."
In anticipation, the third castle appeared in front of Chen Sheng's eyes. The castle stood in the plain, and to the south was the fourth castle, the fifth castle, and then there were the lofty mountains.
There are hundreds of households in this fort. The barracks inside are similar to those of Jingbian Fort in those days. It is surrounded by a rammed earth wall about two meters high. There is an archery watchtower on the side.The defense is relatively ordinary, but now that the east road is stable inside, it is enough to have this defense.
For a fort like Sansanbao, depending on the size of the fort, there are one or several teams for the fort, with some gunners, swordsmen and shields, and the rest are spearmen.Men and strong women in the village also have a spear guard, and the village chief and defense officer will call the men to practice depending on the slack season.
When Chen Sheng's carriage arrived in front of Sansanbao, it immediately attracted the attention of everyone in the village.
Now all the villages are based on the land camp system, there is no division of land, and the village households are given rations on a monthly basis. During the busy season, the monthly grain is more and the food is rich. When the farming is slack, the monthly grain is less.Waiting for the people in Xinli Tunpu, there are not many people who can afford a carriage.
Everyone gathered around, discussing and guessing who it was.
Chen Sheng and Ju Yiwu got out of the car, causing a commotion immediately, everyone said: "Chen Guanren, Ju Guanren is back."
There was a warm greeting, Chen Sheng and Ju Yiwu were one of the few people in the Fanshan area who joined the Shun Township Army, they could be described as the pride of the Sanbao people, looking at the two men in armor, wearing a waist knife, they were so heroic, everyone envied: "Look at this heroic spirit, the people who join the Shunxiang Army are extraordinary."
"This murderous aura must have killed many thieves."
"I heard that the general has a holiday, and all the soldiers who are going to the expedition will have ten days."
After Chen Sheng and Ju Yiwu lifted their bags from the carriage and took out food stamps to pay for the carriage, everyone was even more uproarious: "I got rich, I got rich, Mr. Chen, Mr. Ju really got rich, look at that There is a thick stack of banknotes with a face value of dozens of stones."
"The big and small bags must be meat and rice noodles. Blessed be the lady of the Chen family."
"If I wait for a year, it's better to go out once. No wonder everyone wants to join the Shun Township Army. The rewards for this battle are so generous."
"You can't say that, people are fighting with their lives..."
"The general is promoted to be the chief soldier, and he will definitely expand the army. I will wait for the opportunity."
With a cold face and a warm heart, Ju Yiwu took out some candies and distributed them to the children around him, which caused the children to cheer.
Seeing the crowd surrounding him, with countless eager gazes, Chen Sheng didn't know what to do. He was originally a person who was not good at communication.After thinking for a while, he still cupped his hands and said, "Neighbors, Sheng and his family will be taken care of by Duo Meng. Tomorrow, Sheng will hold a banquet in front of the Mawang Temple, and I would like to invite you all to honor me."
Everyone chattered and said, "Official Chen is being polite."
"The two high officials invite guests, I will definitely come."
He enthusiastically surrounded the two of them into the village, helping Chen Sheng and the other to carry things. Chen Sheng was absent-minded and just scanned the crowd with his eyes to see if there were any people he cared about.
Suddenly, he heard someone calling behind him: "Sir."
"Daddy..."
Chen Cheng turned around and saw his wife and concubine rushing towards him. The three children beside them were not his son, and who was the good girl?
Chen Sheng's heart trembled, and he couldn't help but shed tears.
……
Wang Dou gave ten days off to the expeditionary soldiers, not only Gao Xun and other second-class soldiers, but also the rest of the first-class soldiers. They all had horses. Compared with the tossing and turning of second-class soldiers, they returned to their hometowns, but they were much more comfortable. .
Renbu, under Gao Shiyin's command, Zhao Rongsheng, a spearman soldier, followed his Jiachang, and Lai Dexiang, Luo Liangzuo and other Jiazhong brothers left the barracks together. Amidst the shouts, they all stepped on their horses, screaming with joy, and went to the camp. Headed towards Baoanzhou.
They were dressed in iron helmets and armor, with waist knives on their shoulders. Amidst the loud shouts, they just rode their horses and galloped wildly.Everyone didn't have much luggage, even Zhao Rongsheng only brought a few roasted fat ducks and a jar of good wine, ready to go back to enjoy with his grandfather.
Compared with the soldiers of the second-class army, who can't wait to exchange money for food and go shopping, the soldiers of the first-class army take gold and silver food stamps very lightly.
Everyone talked about how to build a big manor and a big pasture outside the Great Wall.Everyone often estimates their own military achievements, how much land can be exchanged for in the future, five hundred mu, one thousand mu, five thousand mu?Even by miles?
Money is not attractive to first-class soldiers who are often rewarded and their families are rich, but the attraction of land is always full of exuberant life.
People in Yijia are all from Baoan Prefecture. They rode their horses and galloped. Although they only rode ten horses, their momentum was not small.The iron hooves hit the ground, and the teams at the intersection far away from Banpai scattered to both sides of the road.After the cavalry passed, they only looked at everyone's backs with envious and fearful eyes.
Running on the official road from Yongning to Yanqing and Huailai, the earth passed under my feet, and iron hooves stepped on the solid road.
Sun Jiachang, who has a gentle personality, couldn't help but swelled with pride, and sang loudly: "Hey, beautiful prairie, I will come, I will come."
Zhao Rongsheng and others rode their horses behind and sang in unison: "Ah, ah, ah, ah!"
"I'll make my cup out of a Tartar's head."
Zhao Rongsheng and others sang together: "Ah, ah, ah, ah."
"Their wives are my concubines, and their sons are my servants."
"Ah yo ah yo, ah yo ah yo."
"My riding whip beat them hard."
"Ah yo ah yo, ah yo ah yo!"
"Across the mountains, across the plains, across the earth, across the grasslands!"
"Ah yo ah yo, ah yo ah yo!"
"To the end of the sky, hey."
Everyone sang: "Kill, kill, kill, kill, kill!"
This song is called Men'er Xing, and I don't know who compiled it in Renbu. Once it was sung, it became popular and became a camp song under Gao Shiyin's command.
The cavalry squalled past like a violent storm, leaving behind howling wolves all the way.
The soldiers went back to their homes and saw their relatives.

(End of this chapter)