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

Chapter 530 Secret Letter
This time Xie Yike sent out sentry, although Yebushou brought heavy casualties, but he also got important information from Baimiaobao.

After obtaining the information, Wang Dou immediately summoned the generals of the Jingbian Army to discuss matters, and soon visited Hong Chengchou, governor of Jiliao.

At this time, the next step of the Ming army's strategy is in full swing, Songshan Fort, Huangtuling and other places, the traces of the mobilization of troops and horses are obvious.

The movement of the Ming army has attracted the attention of the Qing soldiers. All interested generals of the Ming army can see that Huang Taiji, the slave chieftain, has been holding a binoculars on Rufeng Mountain these days, looking down the mountain.

On August [-]th, Shahezi Camp, Leijiagou, Shanhai Township.

After discussing the matter on the ninth day of the lunar new year, according to the military order of the Governor Xingyuan, the Ma Ke, Tang Tong and other ministries originally stationed in the west of Songshan Fort moved to the east side of Huangtu Ridge one after another.

They set up camp on the south bank of the Shahe River, and Wu Sangui's army also moved their camp from Songshan Ridge, and camped south of the two generals.An army of nearly 5 people formed a continuous camp, and the sea of ​​flags could not be seen at a glance.

It was nearing dusk, and smoke was rising from the kitchen. In the camps of Shanhai Town, countless soldiers wearing red-tasseled felt hats and worn-out mandarin duck jackets were having dinner.

Unlike the Jingbian Army who widely used cooking vehicles, the officers and soldiers of Shanhai Town still used the traditional cooking method of burying pots. The first team or the first team used a large pot.

This kind of food is boiled with rice, then exposed to water, repeated several times, and finally some dry rice is obtained, which is somewhat similar to the compressed biscuits of later generations.

Although a small ball of glutinous rice can turn into a big pot after being soaked in hot water, but of course there is no taste, and it needs to be served with salt, vinegar and other things.

Generally, the monthly salt of the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty is two catties for those who have a family, and one catty for those who have no family. It is also a kind of enjoyment to have some salt with the rice.

In the era of no oil and water, it is easy to get hungry very quickly, and piles of mountain and sea soldiers, either standing or squatting, all eat sporadically.

They are a mixture of good and bad, there are burly and fierce soldiers, and some are emaciated old and weak.Among the crowd, there were also some arrogant soldiers wearing mandarin duck war jackets and folded turbans on their heads. Most of them were cavalrymen.

According to the military system of the Ming army, generally only the cavalry, or small officers of the armored rank in the infantry, have armor. However, in the camp, except for the sergeants on patrol, these cavalry will not wear a suit of armor. The towel also functions as an inner hat.

The treatment of the cavalry is better than that of the infantry. Although they are also deducted, most of the cavalry still have money to buy some dried vegetables and dried meat from the merchants to accompany their meals.

Naturally, the cavalry disdained to gather with the infantry, and they also piled up into their own circles. At this time, some dried fish in various forms appeared on their bowls.Although the dried fish is very hard and tastes bitter, no one cares about it, and many people even eat it clean with the bones.

Many people praised it while eating it, saying that this dried fish is really top-grade and delicious. In the era of lack of meat, any kind of meat is welcome.

After dinner, there was a commotion in the battalions, everyone from infantry to cavalry in different shapes.

They may look numb and withered, like old farmers whose backs are bent by life.Or play around, sloppy, cock up your legs and chat, like a street thug.There are also many smoking guns puffing clouds and smoke leisurely. At this time, the Ming army in the north is generally smoking tobacco. Under the cruel war, tobacco can also help relieve pressure.

However, these soldiers all have one similarity, that is, in appearance and temperament, they rarely have the heroic and heroic spirit of soldiers, which is also a common problem of the soldiers of the Ming battalions.

The early rise of the battalion played a great role in fighting against the Japanese pirates in the south and Mongolia in the north.However, with the emptiness of financial resources and the rise of servants, most of the battalion soldiers have become synonymous with military ruffians and villains, which is also a drawback of the recruitment system.

Nowadays, in all the armies of the Ming Dynasty, almost all the battalions and Liangjiazi almost disdain to serve in the army, and most of the recruits are green skins, gangsters and the like.

These people are of bad character, and their salaries are often not paid for several months. In order to survive, they harass the place, eat and drink cards, rob and kill people.

This kind of army, of course, can't talk about military discipline, according to the military law, there is no noise in the army, but it has long been thrown away by the crowd, and the battalions after dinner are as lively as a vegetable market.

The camp of Ma Kezheng, the chief soldier of Shanhaiguan, is close to the edge of the Shahe River. He is the chief soldier, so his camp naturally occupies the best place.At this time, the Shahe River is dry and there is not much water, but it is much more convenient to fetch water for drinking.

From the surrounding area of ​​his camp, there are all over the camps of officers and soldiers of various battalions in the town.It stands to reason that according to the law of war, with the commander-in-chief of a town as the leader, the soldiers of the remaining battalion should surround the commander's camp in the middle with their own camp.

Obviously, Ma Ke did not have such prestige and knowledge, so the officials and generals in the town chose their own convenient places to camp.

In this way, it is difficult to distinguish the battalions, not to mention that it is easy to command and mobilize ineffectively, which increases the selfishness of the battalion officers.

However, this was a common problem in the army in the late Ming Dynasty, and every battalion was accustomed to it.

At this time, the soldiers of the main camp had also finished their dinner, and they all rubbed their bellies comfortably. They were not much better than the soldiers of the other camp.

Many people expressed satisfaction with Cai Cai's meals.

A group of soldiers sat on the ground beside a patched tent.

Wrapped in a folded mountain towel, bare-chested, with a clump of black hair on his chest, a guy with a fleshy face picked his teeth and said vaguely: "Mother, I don't know how long I haven't eaten meat. , the dried fish just now can be eaten every day."

A guy next to him with a few black hairs around his mouth snorted: "There is going to be a war, so the commander let us have a good meal. This is called a meal of decapitation!"

"It's going to war again, Hei Mao, how do you know?"

When the people around heard the words, they all expressed their concerns.

The soldier with black hair around his mouth squinted at the crowd, feeling a sense of superiority in IQ. He sneered and laughed: "It's clear, we originally camped in the west of Songshan Fort, and now we moved here. There is no place in the north. Far away is Shimen Mountain, isn't this the Tartars who want to attack Shimen Mountain?"

Everyone was silent for a while, and they didn't want to mention this matter again. They were all afraid of fighting the Tartars.

One person changed the subject furtively, and he whispered: "You know? Not far from our camp to the south is the Empress Palace, and now it has become a dried fish market, as many as you want, why don't we find a Opportunity, aim at a small merchant..."

Unexpectedly, before he finished speaking, everyone cursed him one after another, saying that he should die so as not to drag others down.

The soldier with black hair around his mouth also sneered, and said, "You know? The dried fish over there is controlled by the Great Chamber of Commerce, and the background is unfathomable. Hearing that our commander-in-chief split the shares among them, You want to rob? The commander cut you off first!"

The soldier also felt that the words were inappropriate, and said: "Anyway, we are the main barracks, what are these fish for, we should be able to eat them often in the future."

Everyone is also thinking, it should be okay, the soldier with black hair around his mouth sneered again: "Eat some dried fish, you will be beautiful, do you know what the Jingbian army eats? Flatbread, white rice, large pieces of pork and mutton as much as you want." Eat. It’s dried fish, and what people eat is also fish jars, the most delicious kind.”

"Yesterday, Mr. Yang bought a few fish porcelain pots, to see what he is so proud of. It's just the grade of other soldiers."

Speaking of these things, everyone in the field was full of envy and hatred for the Jingbian army, and the treatment of that army made them extremely envious.

However, everyone only dares to say strange things behind their backs, and they dare not be disrespectful in person.

It's not without lessons. A sergeant from Biezhen once met a sergeant from Jingbian with a strange air of cynicism and cynicism.

Unexpectedly, the Jingbian soldiers were not good men and women, and they would beat up people if they disagreed with each other. They were well-trained and strong, and they won every fight.And that army, from Uncle Zhongyong to officers at all levels, defended their weaknesses, and when things got serious, it was their own side who calmed down.

After a few troubles, none of the sergeants in the towns dared to disrespect the Jingbian sergeants face to face, but they all greeted them with smiles, intending to make friends and gain some benefits.

Of course, many people don't understand why the Jingbian army is treated so well, and where do they get their food and grass?
At this time, the old Hu also said angrily: "Why are they able to eat and drink enough every day, but we often suffer from hunger and hunger? Could it be that the governor and the army pulled out food and grass for them, and our Shanhai Town was raised by the stepmother? "

The soldier with black hair around his mouth said: "It's not likely that the superior will pull out all the food and grass for them."

He said: "I heard that the food and grass distributed to them is a little bit more. After all, they are the main force of the strong army, but it is not much. The news I heard is that the remaining shortfall is paid to households with real gold and silver by Uncle Zhongyong. Many merchants are willing to sell grain to those corrupt officials in the Ministry. Loyal and courageous, he is sympathetic to his subordinates, and he is willing to spend a lot of money. Our commander-in-chief is no match, and it is too late to deduct military pay."

Having said that, he lowered his voice and glanced around subconsciously.

But the old Hu said bitterly: "Damn, they are all soldiers. Our soldiers are really boring. Why don't we go and join the Jingbian army?"

For a moment, everyone in the field was excited, but the soldier with black hair around his mouth sneered and said, "Will they want you? Knowing the current East Road, how many people want to join the Jingbian army? People outside the town, How many more? They can't arrange for their own military households, and they still want outsiders?"

He said: "You know those people in Ji Town. When they were defeated earlier, Uncle Zhongyong took them in. In the end, they handed over all of them. They didn't want a horse or a knife. They looked down on them."

The guy who provoked everyone to plunder before suddenly said: "Not necessarily, I heard that there are Loyalty Camp and Swordsman Hall on the East Road, and those with martial arts skills can be selected, not only the military households on the East Road in Xuanfu Town .I also heard that those who have a family are more likely to be selected."

The old Hu said angrily: "I've died a long time ago, so why don't I go to grab a woman and recognize my father?"

Everyone in the circle laughed wildly.

Suddenly a leather whip hit the old Hu's naked upper body heavily, leaving a deep bloodstain immediately.

The fierce soldier with a face full of flesh was furious, jumped up, and shouted: "Who hit me? Old..."

However, the rest of his words were retracted. In front of his eyes, stood a group of high-spirited battalion soldiers. These people were all the personal guards of the handsome battalion. A somewhat similar middle-aged general.

With a gloomy expression, he said lightly: "No noise is allowed in the camp, don't you know? But you want to be punished by military law?"

He quickly glanced at the soldiers nearby, lowered his eyelids, and said, "Nianer is the first offender, so he slapped the mouth twenty times, as a warning to others!"

Before that old Hu could react, a small officer next to him with a leather whip smiled grimly. Red and swollen, he had been beaten into a pig's head.

The general snorted in satisfaction and walked away.

The servants behind him also swayed to follow, while kicking those sergeants who couldn't dodge: "Good dogs don't block the way, get out of the way, don't give a wink."

Seeing these people go away, the old Hu stood up covering his mouth, with resentment flashing in his eyes: "Damn, hit me, find a chance, I will shoot him with an arrow."

The soldier with black hair around his mouth shrank back obediently just now, and sighed: "Ma Zhiyong is also a man, why did he die in battle? This Ma Zhiren is small-minded, and he is the first general of his family, eager to stand in the camp Wei, Lao Hu, you are also unlucky to be bumped into by him."

People around said one after another: "Yes, it's better not to talk about him, we can't afford to offend him."

The battalion is corrupt, but there are also ranks in the ranks, not to mention soldiers and officers, cavalry, infantry, and servants are also divided into ranks.

For example, that Ma Zhiren just now was originally a guerrilla general. Because Ma Zhiyong, the deputy general of Ma Ke's main barracks, died in battle, so Ma Ke raised Ma Zhiren up as his own general and took charge of the remaining servants. It's a relative, don't worry.

However, Ma Zhiren relied on flattering his superiors. Although his department was good at bullying men and women, his combat power was poor and he could not convince the crowd.

Relying on Ma Ke's relationship, Ma Zhiren has been domineering for a long time on weekdays, so of course he can't bear to be treated lightly. He deeply hates the few generals in the camp who refused to accept him. This old Hu is also one of the subordinates of the generals. When Ma Zhiren had the idea of ​​standing up in his heart, something happened to Lao Hu just now.

That old Hu also knew that Ma Zhiren was not someone he could mess with, but how could he swallow that tone just now, and said cruelly: "Hmph, hit me, don't let me find a chance..."

……

Ma Zhiren led the cronies beside him, walked through the camp, and saw garbage and sewage between the tents, like refugee camps.

According to the military law of the Ming Dynasty, the camp must be kept clean and tidy, but in Shanhai Town, even Ma Ke's main barracks failed to do so.

However, Ma Zhiren turned a blind eye when passing through these garbage and feces, apparently accustomed to this situation.

Along the way, from time to time, generals from the main barracks greeted Ma Zhiren affectionately, but Ma Zhiren just nodded lightly, putting on airs.

Soon, a gorgeous big tent appeared in front of it, surrounded by guards and armored soldiers.Ma Zhiren asked his followers to stay outside the tent, brewed up his feelings, put on a humble smile, and walked into the tent.

The inside of the tent and the outside of the tent are like two worlds, as soon as you enter the big tent, you will see that the interior is luxuriously furnished, and the big candles as thick as a child's arm are lit, lighting up the inside of the tent brightly,

In front of a big case, Marco was enjoying dinner in a brocade robe and casual clothes.The food was very sumptuous, the table was fully set up, all kinds of fresh fish were also available on the desk, a few high-end fish porcelain jars were also opened, and the tableware he used were all gold and silver utensils.

At this time, on both sides of the desk, there were two beautiful women serving with smiles, feeding Ma Ke from time to time.No, after looking carefully, I realized that these two people were not women, but handsome boys disguised as women.

Seeing how the three of them are making out, those who don't look like men will definitely feel sick to their stomachs.But Ma Zhiren didn't take it seriously, the commander-in-chief liked the young man, and he always claimed that two flats are not as good as one circle. These two young men were recruited by Ma Zhiren, which was one of the reasons why he was favored by Ma Ke.

After entering the tent, Ma Zhiren didn't dare to disturb the commander-in-chief's eating, and stood respectfully with his hands down.

Seeing him coming in, Marco just raised his eyelids, and then continued to enjoy slowly.It wasn't until a quarter of an hour later that he put down his silver chopsticks and smiled at the two young gentlemen beside the table: "Your sisters serve you well, and I will reward you for these meals."

Those two were overjoyed, and said delicately: "Thank you, Commander."

Ma Ke said with a grin: "Thank you so much?"

A pat on one of the buttocks: "Two little whores, watch how I deal with you at night."

The one looking back coquettishly said, "It's disgusting."

After the two went out, Ma Ke took out a delicate tobacco rod, took out some shredded tobacco from a pipe to fill it up, and Ma Zhiren quickly took out a fire pocket and lit the marshal.

Marco puffed out a puff of smoke comfortably, and said lightly, "How's the matter?"

With his back to the candlelight, smoke curled up in the shadows, and the gloom was a bit scary. Ma Zhiren didn't dare to neglect, this master was a moody character, if he was not careful, he wouldn't know how he died.

He hurriedly replied respectfully: "I have already contacted, but..."

"Ah."

Ma Ke's face changed: "Just what?"

Ma Zhiren gritted his teeth, and replied cautiously: "That said, they need to write a letter from the commander in person before they can believe it..."

(End of this chapter)