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

Chapter 852 Human Heart
Chongzhen 17 March [-]th.

At dawn, the clouds were all together, and the light rain continued.Misty fog, Russian light snow.

Looking at the sky covered by smoke and flames in the surrounding suburbs, it is the thieves who are burning and plundering every city, township and town in Gyeonggi.There are rumors in Beijing every day that the thieves are coming, and the thieves are coming, but how far away they are, there is no consensus.Some people say that the thief is only a hundred miles away from Beijing, while others say it is only tens of miles away.

Beijing and China sent horses every day, but most of them were looted into the camp by thieves, and few of them returned. Even if some people returned, there were many opinions and different opinions.

In the rain and snow, the majestic capital stands tall, with a rather melancholy look. On the majestic city wall, crowds like ants are busy.

This great city, after years of continuous expansion and reinforcement since Emperor Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty officially established Beijing as the capital in the 19th year of Yongle, has become extremely thick and solid.In the huge city, there are palace city, imperial city, inner city and outer city.

In Namaka Miyagi Saturday, there are eight gates.There are eighteen miles around the imperial city, and there are six gates.The inner city is 45 miles away, and there are nine gates.The outer city covers the south of the capital city, and turns to embrace the east and west turrets, with a circumference of 28 miles and seven gates.The total length of the inner and outer city walls is sixty or seventy miles.

Such a majestic and huge city can only be found in Daming at this time. Looking at all countries in the world, east and west, there is no such thing.

In the misty rain and the flurry of snowflakes, Fu Yingchong, the chief soldier of the Beijing Battalion, stepped up to the city wall of Yongdingmen with heavy steps. Behind him were four soldiers, each of whom was wearing heavy armor, and each piece was made of fine iron. The nail leaves clang.

These armored soldiers are not simple, they are the elite heroes Fu Yingchong recruited from Xuanfu Town through Chen Jiugao's relationship, and all of them have the skills of first-class swordsmen.They are well-proportioned, and their bodies are unusually strong, with iron armor weighing thirty to forty kilograms on their bodies, but they seem to be effortless, and their steps are as light as civet cats in walking and walking.

As a hero in the Jinzhou War, the beloved general in the emperor's heart, the bandits are about to attack, and as the commander-in-chief, Fu Yingchong naturally has the duty to shoulder the heavy responsibility.So what he defended was the largest of the outer city gates, the main thoroughfare from the southern part of Gyeonggi to the capital, Yongdingmen.

This is the main gate of the outer city wall of the capital, located on the central axis, between Zuo'anmen and You'anmen.

Two years have passed, Fu Yingchong is still so tall and thin, but now his shrewd face is full of bewilderment.His family knew about his family affairs, he knew that he could be a good hand by making money and doing business, and he let him lead the army to fight...

The 14th year of Chongzhen's Battle of Jinzhou relied on the military exploits of the Jingbian Army. Those of his subordinates looked mighty and majestic, but they were actually all appearances.Not to mention that the Beijing camp suffered heavy losses after the plague, and Fu Yingchong didn't even know whether the newly recruited children were soldiers or thieves.

He has been busy making friends and making money these years, but in fact he rarely puts his mind on military affairs, and many things can be muddled along.Only when Hong Chengchou was in charge of things, he would be more active. After Hong Chengchou became seriously ill, he would slack off.

Alas, Fu Yingchong sighed heavily, he felt a little regretful, he should have listened to Chen Jiugao earlier, dropped everything and went to Xuanfu Town.With his current wealth, it would be good to open a few shops over there, or open an escort agency like Chen Jiugao, so he can live in style.

It's just that I don't want to part with the foundation of the capital, and I also have a fluke mentality. I didn't expect that the thieves would hit the foot of the capital so soon.I hope the capital can hold on, as long as it persists for a few months, the Marquis of Yongning will not ignore it.

With complicated thoughts, Fu Yingchong went up to the city wall of Yongdingmen. Many soldiers here were busy adding guards and setting up Hongyi cannons. The four-wheeled millstone cannons of the Qing Dynasty seized during the Jinzhou War were impressively listed.

The Ming army won a complete victory in the Battle of Jinzhou, and captured hundreds of Han Eight Banners Hongyi heavy artillery. After the court asked Wang Dou what he meant, he left dozens of Hongyi heavy artillery to guard the cities of Liaodong.Some of them were transported to Jizhen, and the rest were transported back to the capital, where they belonged to Fu Yingchong's Shenji Battalion, which included these four-wheeled millstone cannons.

Yongding Gate was first built in the 32nd year of Jiajing in the Ming Dynasty, implying "eternal stability".

Although the city is solid, but Fu Yingchong looked all the way, the uneasiness in his heart became more and more intense. There were only a few busy soldiers, most of them were lazy, and they didn't think it would be different from a thief.Many people gathered together, laughing and laughing as usual, looking at those working people, their eyes were like looking at idiots.

All the guerrillas watched lazily, and some even gathered in the grass factory to enjoy the fire, playing horses and cranes in a leisurely manner, and didn't bother to pay attention to defense at all.Occasionally, he shouted twice, and what he said was full of stereotypes such as "loyal to the country and serve the emperor with all his heart", which did not stir up any disturbance among the soldiers outside.

In the mist, snow and rain, watching Fu Yingchong and his party approach, the soldiers at the top of the city had different expressions.They either looked indifferent, or greeted with a smile.Most of the Jingying are the sons of honorable nobles, descendants of military officers. Although Fu Yingchong is the commander-in-chief, few of his subordinates will respect him.

Especially those soldiers who were being urged to work, all of them had numb expressions. When Fu Yingchong passed by, they just pretended not to see it.

Some people glanced at it, full of coldness and hatred.

Some of them saw the four armored soldiers behind Fu Yingchong, their bodies were well armored, and their eyes were full of envy.

Without exception, these squads are all in ragged clothes and tattered military uniforms.Most of them only wore mandarin duck battle jackets, no fur caps or gowns, etc. The spring was cold and they just shivered in the rainy and snowy weather. They were not like soldiers, but more like servants.

Fu Yingchong sighed deeply, the squad had a lot of hard labor, sometimes he felt sympathy when he saw it, but there was nothing he could do, after all, he was also one of the beneficiaries.As the commander-in-chief of the Beijing battalion, he often served the battalion army privately, driving them to work, and often letting them work without paying them.

Although he didn't like it in his heart, he still had to say something on the scene. Fu Yingchong showed two huge canine teeth to encourage him, but there were only sparse echoes on the city wall.

Some close battalion officials naturally wanted to help Fu Yingchong support the scene, they shouted: "Master Fu, you have to listen carefully."

While slapping the sergeant with a whip.

However, most of them beat honest workers, those green skinned and suspicious-looking people did not dare to beat them.

Fu Yingchong was even more upset, and was about to say something, when suddenly cheers came, and someone shouted: "Long live God has given money to reward the army."

……

The commander-in-chief of each battalion brought the money and distributed it to the guards. The guards each had a hundred yellow coins, and the soldiers who guarded the wall had only twenty coins.Holding the copper coins, many people sneered, and some flicked the coins with their fingers, and said jokingly: "The emperor wants his life, so I will guard the city. This money can only buy five or six sesame cakes."

The person next to him smiled and said, "It's not bad to have five or six sesame seed cakes. Mr. Chen, when you buy lunch at noon, remember to bring three sesame seed cakes for your brother."

The people around laughed loudly, there was no cooking utensils on the city wall, and the city guards ate food at the market, and when they were hungry, they went to the market to buy food by themselves.

Fu Yingchong was a little embarrassed, he knew that the emperor had no money, and the internal money had long since run out, and only these were left after the Ku Jin was searched.

Of course, the city guards wouldn't care about it, they were resentful, and Fu Yingchong couldn't say anything.

He walked away by inspecting the city defense, and saw a group gathered there again, a man with a dark face was talking about something, his eyebrows were beaming.Squatting next to them were a few battalions in shabby uniforms. They kept nodding, all looking yearning and full of expectation.

"...Do you know? The Rebel Army has always been generous. During the Lantern Festival, do you know how much Chen San and others got?"

With the expectant look of others, he stretched out his finger: "This number."

The soldiers in the squad next to them all took a breath: "30 taels?"

The man proudly said: "So, what should I do, I think everyone knows it?"

He raised his head abruptly, but saw Fu Yingchong with a livid face, obviously he had heard everything he said.

He wasn't afraid either, and his gaze was quite provocative, and he even hummed a song: "Eat his mother, eat his mother, if you don't eat enough, there will be King Chuang. Open the gate to welcome King Chuang, King Chuang If you come, you won’t pay the food.”

Not far from him was a general, who spoke rebellious words, but he just listened with a blank expression.

The soldier was humming a song, and all the soldiers beside him were laughing, and the "Mr. Chen" who played the money laughed even more when he heard it.

Several squadron soldiers around this soldier also looked at him with a glint of resentment in their eyes.

Fu Yingchong gritted his teeth, he didn't know what to do, at this moment, there was a dragon's roar, and a cold light flashed, but a cold-faced armored soldier came out from behind Fu Yingchong, and the long knife in his hand slashed across the place. the neck of a soldier.

The soldier was stunned, he touched the bloodstain on his neck in disbelief, and then the blood sprayed out, and with a "boom", his head fell to the ground, and his body fell down slowly.

A bloody smell spread.

Everyone in the city was startled, and the "Third Master Chen" who played the money stood up with a face full of horror.

Before he had time to speak, another armored soldier drew his blade out from behind Fu Yingchong. He took a few steps forward, and stabbed fiercely with the long knife in his hand into the "Master Chen"'s wide open mouth, as if piercing a piece of paper. Like, piercing his body and piercing his heart at once.

"Mr. Chen" trembled violently, and soon, his body slowly collapsed, his expression was full of pain, confusion and astonishment.

There was silence on the top of the city. The officers opened their mouths and hesitated for a while, but no one came out to speak.

The footsteps were heavy, and the armor leaves on his body clanged accordingly. The cold-faced armored soldier pointed at the long knife in his hand, a few drops of blood slipped from the blade, and he pushed forward step by step.

Several squadrons around the soldier looked terrified, and some wanted to kneel down and beg for mercy, but there was also one who stuck his neck and said, "Why, do you want to kill someone? You rich and powerful, every day, every day, every day, every day, big fish and big meat, but you don't even have a monthly salary. The food and silver are not replenished. Since Zhang Shouyin came to the capital, he built a tower today, repaired the city wall tomorrow, and built a house for some honorable family the next day, but he was in arrears with his life rations... A certain man just wanted to tear a piece of cloth for his friend I can’t even save enough money... It’s better to die than to live, kill me, I’ll die long ago!”

His tearful howl made many people feel the same way, especially those soldiers.

One person muttered: "That's right, you don't treat me as a human being on weekdays, but now that the thieves are calling, you will think of us."

The cold-faced armored soldier paused. He carefully sized up the screaming squadron with his neck stuck. He looked haggard and wrinkled. He might only be in his thirties, but his hair was white everywhere and covered with wind, frost and snow. The color of the rain, but the expression is stubborn and full of insecurities.

He put the knife back into its sheath, and said with a sneer: "You guys are living a hard life, so you think that you will have a good life when the thief comes? I don't want to kill you, it depends on how you will die if you fall into the hands of the thief."

Everyone on the city wall was silent, and many people were still watching numbly. Fu Yingchong opened his mouth, and suddenly felt extremely regretful, regretting that he should not be busy making friends and making money all day long, while ignoring his soldiers.

He looked at the officers around him. Some of them acted as if they didn't see or hear what was going on here, some looked embarrassed, some looked evasive, some didn't care, and some sneered.

He felt even more dispirited, that's all, if you really want to investigate, there are not many officers and soldiers in the city who shouldn't be killed.

They rode their horses and walked along the city wall. Fu Yingchong looked outside Yongding Gate. There were some camps on the edge of the city wall. Day camp, train cannons, thorn antlers, deployed along the Yongdingmen, Guangqumen, and Chaoyangmen areas.

However, based on what happened just now, Fu Yingchong is not at all sure whether these camps outside the city can stop him or not.

At this moment they were heading west, past You'anmen, Fu Yingchong took a look at the city, the area in the southwest corner of the outer city was called Yange, from You'anmen to Guang'anmen, there were many Hui Hui living together.Fu Yingchong heard the wind, saying that Qunhui wanted to open the door indiscriminately.

He sighed in his heart, not to mention the matter of talent just now, but who didn't say that in Beijing Zhongxian?From ordinary soldiers and civilians, to court ministers, to honored eunuchs, who didn't mean this?Who knows what they really think in their hearts?
After arriving at You'anmen, the situation here was the same as that of Yongdingmen, which made him frown, and then he rode his horse to go to Guang'anmen, but saw a general receiving the arrow from the eunuch guarding the gate, and then the city gate opened , Many refugees entered, no one dared to question, and the ministers who were guarding by the side just sat and watched.

Fu Yingchong sighed again in his heart, bandits were approaching, there were many refugees, many people wanted to seek refuge in the city, but who knew how many of them were civilians and how many were thieves?If you really think about city guards, no one should be allowed in.

Fu Yingchong knows that His Majesty only trusts the eunuchs now, and the city guards of all the gates are made by internal officials, that is, the admiral, Li Guozhen, the Boss of Xiangcheng, and Wang Chengen, the admiral of inner and outer city defenses. They often live on the Yongding Gate tower, Fu Yingchong knows very clear.

Do you know if these eunuchs also have the intention of changing to a new master?
He pulled his horse back and went through You'anmen and Yongdingmen, and then went east, and there were Zuo'anmen and Guangqumen.

Zuo'anmen is located in Dongyuan, which can be regarded as a remote "village gate". There are open fields everywhere, where vegetables and food are grown, and reeds are everywhere. There is no sign of a city at all.This is considered a low-lying, flood-prone area with a lot of aquatic plants, and it has never been the main direction of the enemy's attack, so the city defense is easy to say.

In the end, Fu Yingchong arrived at Guangqumen. In the second year of Chongzhen, Huang Taiji led the Eight Banners Tartars to attack here, and this time it is also the key point of city defense.

It's just that when Fu Yingchong arrived, he heard whispers: "...the emperor is hunting south, and dozens of internal officials rushed out of Deshengmen."

Seeing them passing around with their noses and eyes, Fu Yingchong sighed again. At this time, a soldier beside him said: "Master Fu, the morale of the army is unstable, and we need to reward the soldiers to reassure them."

Fu Yingchong was a little bit reluctant, but thinking that this is not the time to be stingy, he gritted his teeth: "Forget it, I, Fu Daya, will go to the mansion to get [-] silver coins to reward the soldiers."

They went down to the city from Guangqumen, and then planned to enter the inner city from Chongwenmen, and went to their mansion to get silver.

Just passing through a low alley on Chongwenmen Street, I saw the residents here whispering, they were male and female, old and young, most of them were women, they formed a circle, especially listening to one of them. The merchant-like person spoke.

"Do you know? The emperor ran away, and dozens of eunuchs walked out of Desheng Gate..."

"Ah, the emperor has already run away, so why guard the city?"

"Yeah, don't defend the city anymore, otherwise the rebel army will attack the city, and there will inevitably be casualties. My good friend can defend the city at the Yongding Gate..."

"Ah, Bagu, hurry up and tell your good friend to come down, the rebel army is going north, the main attack must be Yongdingmen and Guangqumen, these swords and arrows have no eyes..."

"That's right, Ba Gu, you've had such a hard time these years, you've been alone with Nian Nu, and it's hard to find a man who is sincerely good to you, so you can't just disappear like this."

The neighbor's gossip made the woman named "Bagu" even more anxious. She was about 30 years old, with a haggard look and patches all over her clothes, but she was very clean and her hair was combed meticulously. There is a stubborn look on the face.

Standing timidly beside her was a girl, about fifteen or sixteen years old, with a beautiful appearance, but her face was disheveled, and her clothes were also patched.

This woman is Yang Bagu, who was born in a farm household. She asked the merchant expectantly: "Master Tian, ​​the rebel army is really like what you said. They don't kill people, don't love money, don't rob, and let everyone be safe?"

The neighbors also looked forward to watching, and the shopkeeper of the field smiled and spoke with a strong Shaanxi accent: "Of course, this song has been spread all over the world. Otherwise, why would the Dashun army be so powerful that they invaded Shandong and then came here again?" At the foot of the capital?"

Bagu Yang asked again: "After Dashun Heavenly King is in charge, can we also be exempted from the money of the servants?"

Shopkeeper Tian smiled and said, "Of course, you shouldn't be on errand and don't pay your salary. It's clearly stated in the song."

The neighbors were all overjoyed: "Great, this is really saving the people from hanging upside down."

"I really hope that the rebels will come, and then Lixin will live a good life."

There was a bright light in Bagu Yang's eyes.

Her daughter Nian Nu pulled her sleeve, her expression was full of anticipation, imagining that kind of heavenly day.

Yang Bagu's family belonged to garden households. In Ming Dynasty, there was a saying that allocating households worked as errands. As the capital of the capital, the capital had many yamen, and even more so, a large number of services. Service households, such as mausoleum households, garden households, sea households, banner households, treasury households, etc., are innumerable.

Among all kinds of service households, except for officials, juren, supervisors, and students who enjoy privileges and exemptions, the rest must undertake miscellaneous duties.After the late Ming Dynasty, handymen were basically reduced to two silver, and then the government hired people to fill them up.These people have establishments in their bodies, such as treasuries, yamen servants, Douji, etc., have a certain amount of work, food and silver, various gray incomes, and so on.

The rest have no connections, can't get into the "compiler", and those who don't have a quota, have to pay honestly.Just like Yang Bagu, her former husband was a peasant householder, who counted as one dime, and paid four taels of service silver every year, which was doubled in fact.After her husband died, Bagu Yang still couldn't avoid this kind of corvee money.

And because of the difficult state affairs, Bagu Yang's family has no men, so the service money has been intensified, and now it has reached ten taels a year.

This made Bagu Yang feel aggrieved and oppressed, and she desperately wanted to change this fate.

Normally she is powerless, and if she resists, her head will be broken. Now she finally has hope to live a new life.

At this moment, she is so looking forward to the arrival of the Shun army, saving the people from hanging, and no longer living under the tyranny of the Ming Dynasty.

But at this time, when they saw Fu Yingchong and the others approaching, they all looked indifferently and hostilely.

"Look, here comes the dog leg."

"Their days are coming to an end..."

They were whispering, although their voices were low, how could Fu Yingchong not hear them, he was already powerless to argue with these people, he only felt that all kinds of dissatisfaction in the capital gathered together and finally merged into one voice, that is to change the master and change the dynasty.

He even saw the street patrolling soldiers coming and going, they had already passed by a few times, no one would have heard these rebellious words, but they all pretended not to hear them.

Fu Yingchong rode his horse over directly, and the cold-faced armored soldier glanced at Bagu Yang and the others. His eyes were indifferent, and there was an imperceptible trace of pity in his heart.

Seeing Fu Yingchong and others passing by without saying a word, shopkeeper Natian had a complacent look in his eyes.

He said with a smile: "People's hearts are just, it can be seen."

(End of this chapter)