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

Chapter 672 New Attached Army

The billowing torrent of metal spread across the official road from Xuanfu Town to Wanquan Youwei. Countless soldiers in black-edged armor, armed with weapons, marched forward neatly under the guidance of the sun and moon flags. Horseshoes and military boots The footsteps stirred up a large cloud of smoke and dust.

On a hill close to the official road, a gust of wind blew up, making the sound of the big flag hunting. The basalt silver carving on the top of the big flag was dazzling in the sun, making people dare not look at it. All the officers standing on the hill were just solemn. Look down.

I saw the dense hats and helmets shaking, and the layers of long spears and flintlock guns shone rhythmically. The brilliance of the helmets and weapons could not see the head in front and the end behind.

"Captain Captain, tomorrow my Xuanwu Army will reach Xinghesuo City."

"Well, today's feather cavalry can cross the Wild Fox Ridge."

……

Standing on the slope, touching his nose, Du Xun looked at the river in armor, with red tassels on his helmet, spreading into the distance, sun and moon flags on the crown, basalt bronze sculptures, iron sculptures, vividly, the most , Of course it is an iron sculpture.

Only the battalion generals can own the bronze carving flag, and the silver carving is the banner of the military department.

"Damn it, Wang Dou, he's always wasting money."

Du Xun thought in his heart, looking at the cold light below, I don't know how many armored soldiers are striding forward. At the same time, there are countless vehicles, transporting supplies, and going out to fight outside the Great Wall. After a battle, I don't know how much supplies will be consumed.

The elite of the Jingbian army, Du Xun was not afraid, but he was afraid, but he didn't think about this, and slowly spit out a sentence from his mouth: "There is a battle outside the Great Wall, and so much grain, rice and luggage are transported. When can we go?" Returning money? No wonder everyone says that going out to fight the Tartars is a business that loses money, and the Marquis of Yongning is making waves."

A confidant eunuch beside him said: "That's right, for one liter of military eclipse, [-] troops, how much grain and rice do you need for a month? How many stones do you need for [-] or [-] troops? There are also many war horses and mules. Horses need a lot of hay and beans, and they need to run all the way, and they have to wear and tear, and there are other things. If this battle goes on for a few months..."

He clicked his tongue: "The first time Chengzu conquered Mobei, he used 25 Wugang vehicles and transported [-] shi of grain."

A eunuch suddenly said: "Why not just feed on the enemy?"

As soon as this remark came out, everyone looked at him like an idiot.

Eunuch Du even cursed happily, showing off with his chubby body.

"You donkey brain, who doesn't know that the enemy eats it? But if there is a place, eat it. The grassland is vast, except for the tribes, it is turf. If the tribes run away and only the turf is left, why do you eat the law and eat grass? ah?"

The eunuch was so scolded that he couldn't find the door, so he had to keep saying: "Yes, what my father-in-law said is true."

Seeing him like this, Du Xun felt that this guy was quite pleasing to the eye, and looked down, besides the carriages of the Jingbian army's supply camp, there were also many hired peasants pushing wheelbarrows on the official road.

On those vehicles, besides rice noodles, there were many hay, bean material, porcelain pots for meat, even briquettes, iron nails, etc. on them, and there were also many caravans, carrying vegetables, chickens, ducks, pigs, sheep, etc. OK.

Du Xun snorted again, Wang Dou was not expropriating, but hiring civilian husbands, which also made him slander, is this how money is used?Waste of money and food!

There was something in his heart that he didn't say: "How good would it be if I gave all the money to myself?"

Wang Dou used him as a chamber pot, kept the good things for himself, and left all the bad things to himself, so that he won the title of "traitor" in the town, and also made Du Xun very angry, sinister, cunning, stingy... and so on. Here, if you don’t need money, post it to Wang Dou.

But Du Xun had to admit that these peasants were very motivated, because the rations and wages they received were more than what they got from working, so they were naturally enthusiastic.

In addition, this large-scale outing of the fortress is a grand event unprecedented in a century in the country. Many people in the town have followed, so it is good to show their face and do some business by taking the opportunity.

Tens of thousands of troops gathered outside the Great Wall, and I don’t know how long it will take to fight. All kinds of materials are needed. Cattle, sheep, chickens, ducks, melons, fruits and vegetables are just idle. Things like briquettes, iron nails, etc. need a lot, and factories and mines are set up nearby outside the Great Wall. Timely supply also saves cost.

As the supervisor of Xuanfu Town, Du Xun represented the imperial court, and also reported to Emperor Chongzhen the secret mission of the cause and effect before the war, and was assigned a duty to follow the army to record meritorious service and supervise the transportation of grain and grass.

At first I was very happy, I was able to make a lot of money, but then I found that I was just empty-handed, I couldn't get involved in the affairs of the Jingbian Army, I could only deal with leftovers, I couldn't help being annoyed in my heart, and cursed again: "Go to him. Damn Wang Dou, Lao Du, I have been unlucky for eight lifetimes to meet this bastard!"

……

The Xuanwu Army of the Han Dynasty, as the vanguard, went first, and after starting from the town, they went all the way through Wanquan Zuowei City, Right Weicheng, Xinkaibao, Yehuling and other places.

In the border towns of Daming, usually ten or twenty miles away, a post station Nuanpu was set up. After Wang Dou arrived at the town, he ordered all roads in Xuanfu Town to be treated like the East Road, and set aside a part of the surrounding area to belong to the post station. under the name.

This part of the land can be operated by post soldiers or family members, or it can be rented out to businessmen for inns, teahouses, restaurants, warehouses, and the Civil Information Bureau.

Transportation and travel are the hard needs of the people, and food and accommodation when traveling, mailing letters, items, etc., are even more hard needs. Mastering transportation means mastering wealth.

Therefore, although part of the post station income has to be handed over, but only the retained part, this makes these postmen, like the postmen on the East Road, a part of the first rich, and the post stations in Xuanfu Town are becoming more and more big taxpayers.

Of course, this is also the result of Wang Dou's standard compression of the "delivery of envoys" at each post station. Otherwise, no matter how much income each post station earns, it will not be enough for the officials traveling along the way to eat and drink.

The post station is a transportation hub, but it has more military uses such as reporting military affairs, delivering documents, and transferring supplies. Now the postmen in Xuanfu Town either only collect rent, or let their wives and children run business, and concentrate on military postal affairs. When the errand is gone, all the income is gone.

After Wang Dou took office, from Xuanfu Town to Wanquan Youwei, as well as the Xinghesuo Road outside the Great Wall, not only did the post stations change drastically, but the official roads also underwent rectification and became smooth and easy to walk. Now, in the warehouses of each post road, They all hoarded a large amount of grain and rice, and when they were transported, they were relayed from station to station.

The military law of the Jingbian army is to rest for a quarter of an hour every ten miles. According to the marching speed, just a part of the soldiers can reach a post station, rest nearby, drink hot water, and eat a few hot steamed buns to replenish their strength.

From now on, all the post stations along the way are also making steamed buns, steamed buns, baking flatbreads, cooking broth, etc. day and night.

The feathered cavalry of the middle battalion of the Xuanwu Army crossed the Yehu Ridge on the first day of the eighth month and arrived at Xinghesuo. Soldiers, the whole army arrived at Xinghesuo and Shacheng.

This is September in the Gregorian calendar for later generations, and it is quite chilling. Although the sky is high and the clouds are clear, the wind is clear and the air is crisp, and the grass is lush and straight, but the grass in some mountains and plains is still slightly yellow, and the birch trees and larch , also changed the color of the leaves, some even turned golden.

Some Xuanwu soldiers who had never seen the scenery outside the Great Wall couldn't help admiring loudly, feeling that the scenery outside the Great Wall was quite different from the Central Plains.

When the Han Dynasty arrived, Xinghesuo, Shacheng, Miehuhai and other places had undergone major changes. There were nowhere to gather here, and people and caravans coming and going gathered, and all the forts and merchant villages were crowded. With people, this land outside the Great Wall is as lively as a town.

However, the peasants and the caravan only transported all kinds of supplies here, and the rest continued westward, relying on the supply camp and the soldiers of the Xuanwu Army to transport them.

In the afternoon, the big flag of the military department is flying high beside the Haliutu River. The crown of the flag is a huge silver basalt sculpture. On the top of the flag, there are two basalt patterns, and below it is the wave sun and moon decoration, representing the basalt army. mark.

This kind of big flag can only be owned by generals and battalion generals, and it is also used when setting up camp.

The square flags used by the rest when marching are relatively light, and apart from the sculptures of the various armies on the flag crowns, there are only sun, moon, and waves inside the flags, without patterns such as rosefinch and basalt.

After the army arrived, the soldiers of the three battalions were all stationed on the banks of the Haliutu River. Tents like wildflowers were densely covered in the grassland, and each person had one tent. Because this place was in an absolutely safe zone, there were no wooden walls, and no trenches were dug. Only around the camp, sprinkle barbed wire and arrange patrols.

In the afternoon of that day, about [-] horsemen from the newly attached Mongol army stationed in the Muluan River area passed through the northwest of Mantaoer, Pingdingbao and other places, and also traveled westward to the Shacheng line.

The generals of their new affiliated battalion are the generals of the Qianzong Army at this time. Fu, comfort and other officials.

Both of them are cruel and heartless people, no matter the loyalty camp or the new affiliated camp, they are all in awe of them.

Qi Tianliang, the ambassador of the logistics department, and Sun Sanjie, the general of the supply battalion, arrived in the Shacheng area early to welcome the arrival of the Xuanwu army and the new attached army.

On a long-distance march, if you have the conditions to wash your feet with hot water after camping, you can go farther the next day and you will not get sick easily. It is even more ideal to have hot meals and hot dishes.

……

Tall and burly, with a fleshy face, Zeng Jiuyi, who looked as fierce as Shen Shiqi, led these Mongols here. Although there were [-] horsemen in the camp, they belonged to several tribes, many of which were small tribes with few populations.

The largest tribe has only 500 soldiers, and some small tribes can only recruit dozens of soldiers. These surrendered tribal soldiers have at least 200 people, and they will be given a Jingbian Army Qianzong Banner with at least [-] soldiers. Give them a general flag.

They are under the direct control of the Chinese army, so the flag is bounded in gold, and the crown of the flag is also an iron sculpture of the sun, the moon, and the waves. However, they always hold Sulu ingots with wolf skins hanging on them. They have different shapes and represent their own tribes. style.

For their management, the shogunate currently does not have much involvement. It only set up some officials such as the Department of Civil Affairs and the Department of Naturalization in the grazing land to guide them in raising chickens and ducks, as well as handling tickets and so on.

However, there is one thing that has been rectified long ago, that is, the clothing has been changed back to the original style.

After Huang Taiji ascended the throne, he strictly ordered the Han and Mongols in the territory to wear their braided hair and clothes in the Manchu style, and those who disobeyed the order beheaded, so gradually the Mongolian tribes began to dress in the Manchurian style, with arrow sleeves crooked Button-down shirt.

Under the order of the shogunate to rectify, they changed back to the original Mongolian dress, right lapel gown.

For this expedition, they paid part of the cattle, sheep, chickens and ducks to the Logistics Department as military rations. The soldiers of each unit also brought some cheese, hard meat, dry food and other things. However, a large part of their food supply was still provided by the Jingbian Army. .

After all, these Mongolian tribes carry food to fight, just like ancient Japanese samurai and medieval European knights. The disadvantages are obvious. The food they carry is varied.

After fighting for a period of time, some tribes still have supplies for one month, while others only have five or six days left.

This is obviously not conducive to war, and a unified supply is necessary.

They camped on the left side of the Xuanwu Army. Since they brought their own tents, each of them had a small tent of various styles.

The Han Dynasty looked at their camp very carefully. He read the history books. During the Mongol and Yuan Dynasties, the camp of the Mongolian army was very police-secret. They had to choose high ground, not to mention the high ground. , each battalion is orderly, sentries and cavalry are deployed everywhere, and the defense is comprehensive.

In addition, there are various methods of hiding in the camp. They are often located in one place before sunset, and enter another camp after sunset. There are also methods such as fake fortifications, fake camping, and fake lights. Battalion raids, etc., are very difficult.

However, these advantages are obviously gradually forgotten by the Mongolians everywhere. The camps that have just been set up are like refugee and refugee concentration camps, one place in the east and one place in the west. bit.

Of course, even so, these Mongols are still very useful in this battle. They are familiar with the situation on the grasslands, and their equipment is also good. Each person has at least one horse, or two or three horses.

After they set up camp, the logistics department also provided them with hot water, pork and mutton food, etc. These Mongolians came to ride horses, and they did not have the habit of washing their feet. Many nomads can't live without tea for a day.

There were also large barrels of oily braised pork, rice, egg soup, vegetables, etc. After they were brought, everyone cheered.

Just like farmers in the Central Plains farming, the food they grow may not necessarily be eaten by themselves. The life of grassland herdsmen is not as comfortable as imagined. Although they raise cattle and sheep, it does not mean that they can often eat meat.

In fact, their life is very busy and hard. The whole day is grazing, milking, cheese making, shearing, tanning, felting, and collecting animal dung as fuel. In autumn, they have to cut pasture and store grass for winter. .

In addition, they have to hunt, gather, and even engage in farming. They are busy, but it is difficult to have a full stomach. It is even more difficult to encounter black and white disasters.

Therefore, cows and sheepskin felts are often used to exchange food with the people in the Central Plains, such as cloth, tea, salt, iron pots and other daily necessities, which they cannot lack. ...

Many poor herdsmen often rely on beating otters to survive the winter, but eating too much otter meat is easy to catch the plague. In the 3000th century, the European plague was a pandemic, known as the "Black Death", which was rampant for several centuries. The loss of nearly [-] million lives was the result of the Mongolian army taking over and eating too many otters.

Therefore, many people in the Central Plains yearn for life outside the Great Wall, but the nomads on the grasslands often envy the settled Han people.

For the newly attached Mongols living along the Luan River in Mumu, the nomadic life is not wonderful, and they usually have to move in two weeks, so as not to trample on the nearby turf too much, wandering and wandering, without a fixed place to live.

Moreover, it is not easy to feed a large number of cattle and sheep in the vast grassland. Generally speaking, in some relatively barren places, it takes [-] mu of grassland to raise one sheep, and at least three to four hundred sheep to support a five-year-old sheep. Therefore, a herdsman family needs at least [-] to [-] mu of grassland.

Therefore, the productivity of nomadic herding is very, very low, far lower than that of agricultural production. The heads of various ministries have now tasted the sweetness of fixed-point raising cattle and sheep, especially raising chickens and ducks. The sheep are much better.

They are no longer willing to leave their current way of life, and it is impossible for them to leave the sphere of influence of the Jingbian Army.

If they leave, let alone live a life of homelessness, who will they sell their chickens and ducks to?Are there nomadic tribes nearby?

But to live the current life, there is no way to refuse Wang Dou's order. Only after sending troops and proving their loyalty can they become barbarians, truly reward the land and pastures, and live a settled life, otherwise, maybe one day, they will be forced expelled.

(End of this chapter)