"It is said that this Li Shouhan has no father, is arrogant, arrogant, rude, and vulgar, and when I look at it today, it is completely a rumor!"

Along the north bank of the Tonghui River all the way to the north, until Sanlitun outside Chaoyangmen, this large area is now the camp of the Nanzhong Army, more than 3,000 soldiers and horses, hundreds of various types of baggage vehicles, and more than 3,000 brave people, all stationed here.

On the third day after arriving in Beijing, the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of Ceremonies, the Imperial Horse Supervisor and other institutions jointly sent the second group of military merit inspection teams to the Nanzhong Army camp to inspect the military merit ranks.

After the previous imperial historians and the soldiers returned to Beijing, they had to cry in front of their respective officials and complain that Li Shouhan, a thief, was rude and beat the officials.

If it was in the Wanli period, Qi Jiguang and Yu Dayou couldn't afford these charges, but now it is the Chongzhen Dynasty, and the generals who led the troops can only be comforted by good words. There are many people who are even more unreasonable than Li Shouhan, and they say that they beat up a few Liupinlang Zhongyu and the like, but Zuo Liangyu can easily kill the state and county officials.

What's more, at the moment, this person who is the imperial court wants to be more careful, and he said that he beat a few Langzhong, that is, he killed them, and the military department also had to pinch his nose to help Li Shouhan find out their deserving crimes!

As a result, under the balance between the cabinet and the celebrant supervisor, the two companies jointly dispatched a working group to check military merits.

Of course, they all chose some unlucky people who were not favored by their superiors, and were ready to be sent to the Nanzhong Army to block Li Shouhan's guns.

This group of people has learned from the past, and they think that they may not have such good luck. I happened to meet a Xuanda governor who went to the camp of the Nanzhong Army. So they all held the idea that as long as they didn't go too far during the inspection, they could get by, and they went to the Nanzhong Army camp to make soy sauce in self-deception.

However, I saw the various banners of Jiannu captured in the camp tent, and the bamboo baskets of the Qing army's heads made of nitrate. Under the leadership of the baggage officer, he saw a mountain of Tartar armor that was being repaired by the craftsmen of the army day and night. There are also more than 100 captured Mongolian soldiers with red flags, Baoyi Aha and other characters who are working as coolies in the battalion, and these people have to believe that even if there are some discrepancies in the military achievements of the Nanzhong Army, they are not much different.

However, the point came down in a circle. Six thousand is not only one, but not less. More than half of them are true slave heads, and there are dozens of more real slave heads.

This is the contribution that the Nanzhong Army encountered on the way to Wanping City to meet Lu Xiangsheng with a white flag, and their contribution to the Nanzhong Army.

The first level of military merit tested was correct, and everyone's hearts were all a stone on the ground. Although there is no room for picky bribery. But this unlucky trip can be completed safely. I am secretly rejoicing. A pro-soldier came to spread the word, "My lord left all the adults and father-in-law to use some coarse tea and light rice." ”

It is said to be coarse tea and light rice, but it is also a list of cups and plates. Most of them are based on seafood, and the current transportation is not completely smooth, and the price of seafood in Beijing is also high all the way, which is not something that these Langzhong and little eunuchs can enjoy.

However, the seafood table of Shouhan is almost the entire western Pacific.

Hai Lao (lobster) in the Sea of Japan, octopus in the South China Sea, prawns in the East China Sea, yellow croaker in Zhoushan, shark fin in Shizhou, and mullet roe in Taiwan, although they are all dry goods, but they can't stand the scarcity is expensive.

"Everyone has worked hard, and I am inexplicably grateful to the South Central Army. There is no gift, some small local products, you still hope to smile. ”

After the meal, more than a dozen soldiers of the Nanzhong Army each stood in front of the inspection team with a gift.

A gold coin per person, a refined dyed muslin cloth, and a japonica rice ticket with a denomination of five stones.

This gift, according to the current price in the capital, is no less than one hundred and fifty taels.

So! The adults and fathers-in-law happily carried fifty pounds of cotton cloth and carried gold coins and rice tickets in their pockets. I can't stop laughing at my ex in my heart for being a bunch of stupid forks, why blackmail, aren't there a lot of people who send them themselves?! Not to mention the tyranny in vain, he also fell into the reputation of blackmailing meritorious soldiers!

Seeing this scene, Lu Xiangguan, who was a guest at the Nanzhong Army camp, finally let out a long breath, "My brother is still worried that my brother will still give color to this group of people, so he sent me here, so that my brother will be on the side to persuade one or two." ”

"Huh! These people have not offended me, so why should I bully the weak? ”

The Han Shou ordered people to make tea and sit opposite Lu Xiangguan to taste tea.

"My brother said that for the sake of my brother's affairs, the cabinet and the celebrant have quarreled, and the lords and fathers-in-law are all worried to death!"

"Oh!? But why? ”

Shouhan asked a little knowingly, under the influence of Lin Wenbing's connections and intelligence system, he already knew seventy or eighty percent.

"Brother's military exploits have set a precedent for the dynasty since the Wanli period, and the combat power of the Nanzhong Army is stronger than the elite soldiers trained by Qi Shaobao. The emperor was bent on promoting his brother to be the chief soldier of a town, so as to contribute to the country. However, the military department and the cabinet were all contrary to the system, and the fifth-grade official body could not be promoted to the second-rank general soldier. The temperament of our emperor, I think you have heard it. As soon as he heard this, he was immediately furious. It is necessary for the Ministry of War, the Cabinet, and the Celebrant to come up with a practical strategy and understand the response. Don't chill the hearts of heroes. ”

Shouhan understood that this was about the big man in the DPRK, and he couldn't come up with a way, so he turned to Lu Xiangsheng to find out his tone.

Second Rank General Soldier? Is Lao Tzu rare? Once I become this official, do I have to give up the territory and strength of the Nanzhong Army and go to the Central Plains to suppress thieves? So who is my hard work for? Isn't it cheaper for nothing that the silverfish are cheap?! However, isn't the purpose of entering King Qinwang in Beijing this time to have a legal identity within the Ming system, in a name commensurate with the current strength of the Nanzhong Army?

"The general soldier is a second grade, right?"

Shouhan deliberately pretended that he was not very familiar with the official system in the mainland.

"Of course!"

"It doesn't matter if you don't be a chief soldier, I want a second-rank officer!"

"And then?"

Lu Xiangtai looked at Shouhan a little eagerly.

"And then? According to Brother Ling's official position, isn't Governor Xuanda also a messenger? Just give me an errand! ”

That's the point. Lu Xiangtai's goal was achieved, and he had a basic understanding of Shouhan's requirements and ideas, and he could go back to his life. The two of them drank tea and started haha.

After a few idle words, Lu Xiangtai talked about what happened in front of Qingshui Mingyue Pass in Jianchang Camp that day.

"Brother, you offended Gao Qiqian's father-in-law that day, it is said that this person will say that on the way back to Beijing, he will definitely want you to look good! Although this guy is a castration, after all, he has a prison hat on his head, if he tries to disadvantage you. You've got to plan ahead! ”

"What about this gelding?!" Shouhan sneered. Chongzhen dared to send the Liaodong Governor to the prison and sent him to the vegetable market, and ate 3,600 dollars. However, a group of people led by the ancestral family of Liaoxi Jiangmen were on the Jiannu side. On Daming's side. Eat it all on both sides. didn't see what he dared to do to his ancestral family.

"Brother, what do you think of me!?"

Shouhan pointed to the Nanzhong Army and the three thousand volunteers who were practicing in the open space outside the tent, and asked Lu Xiangtai with some smugness and ostentation.

"I also lead troops under my brother. I have seen a lot of soldiers and horses in the north and south, and to put it mildly, in the Ming official army, including my Tianxiong army, there is no battalion that is the opponent of the southern Chinese army! ”

"Our army has its own food and salary, and the armor, swords, and guns are all self-raised, and these people are all my family according to the practice of the Ming Dynasty. Just ask, there is something that doesn't have long eyes that dares to come to the camp to my detriment?! I'm not afraid of the Tartars, but I'm afraid of the garrison of the Beijing Division?! ”

This is a bit arrogant, but it is also true. The 3,000 Nanzhong Army, against the 6,000 Jiannu, can still win the battle, even against the three major battalions and our Xuan army, and it may not be inferior. However, it is easy to dodge open guns and difficult to defend against dark arrows. Beware of them luring you into the city and then working against you! ”

"Just like dealing with Yuan Chonghuan back then? Or is it a trumpet to smash a glass on top of the banquet, and hundreds of axe hands rush out behind the screen and under the two corridors? ”

Shouhan looked at Lu Xiangtai's white face with a grin.

"This, I don't know, but, people's hearts are ghostly, especially the Ming officialdom, my brother's heart, my brothers are happy to deal with you, but officialdom is dangerous, it's better to make more preparations."

Shouhan put down the teacup in his hand, and the smile on his face disappeared in an instant, replaced by a solemn face.

"Brother, Brother Ling and I are all familiar at first sight, and we are also fighting side by side. I'll tell you the truth, this time King Qin, after landing in Nigu, Liang Tingdong's blackmail made it difficult for me, so I agreed with the sailor to contact every five days and report safety according to the agreed secret code. If they fail to receive my letter of peace twice in a row, they will immediately sail south, and then enter the Yangtze River in Chongming, and the rivers around Zhenjiang and Yangzhou."

Speaking of this, Shouhan paused, Lu Xiangtai was already starting to break out in a cold sweat when he heard this, he knew that Li Shouhan must have arranged an extremely powerful backhand, otherwise, he would not be so determined and bold!

"How does the sailor act?!"

"Don't do anything, cut off the north-south transport! Let's see if the adults in the capital can withstand the danger of running out of food in the capital?! ”

Shou Han said this lightly, but it made Lu Xiangtai fight a cold war. This trick is really too ruthless, hitting the vital point of the Ming Dynasty, not to mention that the Ming court needs a victory too much to boost the morale of the army and the people. In order to declare to the people of the world that the Ming Dynasty has loyal people who have rushed to King Qin thousands of miles away, and the Ming Dynasty is expected to be able to protect the people. Putting this point aside, the threat and consequences of simply cutting off the transportation of water and cutting off grain from entering Beijing are something that the first and second assistants of the cabinet dare not bear.

However, I don't think so. These days, the cabinet continues to urge the courtesy, officials, and soldiers to do their best to come up with a reward strategy, and the emperor also continues to summon Lu Xiangsheng, Wang Pu, Yang Guozhu, Hu Dawei and others who have made meritorious contributions to the enemy on the platform.

Thinking that Wang Pu has always only been able to kill good and take risks, he can be received by the emperor and given a banquet, Li Shouhan's merits, the reward should not be bad.

"Pay the army!"

After lunch, after a short rest, the soldiers and volunteers in the large camp were urged to assemble and line up by a whistle.

The South Central Army was lined up in a square line with a sentry as a unit, and a long table was placed in front of the square team. The silver dollars wrapped in red paper on the table were stacked neatly one by one. Several of the auxiliary soldiers of the baggage battalion cut through the paper rolls with knives and placed the silver dollars in wooden plates.

Outside the camp, many passers-by and children playing stopped and gathered at the edge of the ditch and tiptoed to look inside the camp. These many silver dollars, illuminated by the autumn afternoon sun, shimmered lovely.

Because there was no enemy situation in the camp, the people did not wear a cuirass made of nine-turn steel, but only wore a bamboo armor outside the military uniform. Ochre-red bamboo armor. The silver dollar of the white flower flower constitutes the main color factor in the minds of many people when they recall this scene in the future.

According to the regulations, soldiers who go out on combat missions are to be given so-called rations. It is also a subsidy during the war. Basically, it is to double everyone's original military salary.

Before the issuance of silver dollars. The salary medals clearly stipulate the amount of military salaries for soldiers of all levels and categories, and mobilized soldiers receive 126 yuan of silver per month, and no rice is given. A is to bear the burden of cultivating the fields in the soldier's family and ensure that the harvest is not lower than the average level of the soldier, and the captains of A receive three taels of silver per month, and ten stone of rice. After the issuance of silver dollars, the original fractions such as six coins and four coins were waved upward by Shouhan.

"Everyone took his military membership and waist card. The mobilization of soldiers is worth two silver dollars, two pieces of rations, and two stones of rice tickets for food allowance! The standing soldier has three silver dollars for his salary, three for rations, and two stones for food allowance! A long salary of four pieces, four pieces of grain, and two stones of rice tickets. ”

Lu Xiangtai and Chen An are also the same as the people outside the camp, and they are very curious about this scene. Paying salaries is nothing new. However, the form of the South China Army's organization of military salaries is refreshing. It was not distributed to the officers, but to gather the team to pay by name. Let everyone know how much they should be paid.

"This is one of the fundamentals of being able to get the strength of soldiers!"

"This, as long as the military salary is abundant and there is a stable source of salary, our Tianxiong Army can also do it!"

The three thousand volunteers on the side were also smiling. Now this day is similar to being in heaven, every day is full of food and clothing, not to mention sufficient oil and water, and when you go out, you are also looked down upon. From time to time, someone would pull them to ask about the killing of Tartars in Hexi. Today, there is still a salary to receive, although the most captains can only get two silver dollars for the mobilized soldiers, or two stone rice tickets, but who has ever seen so much silver?

Ordinary volunteers can only choose whether to ask for a silver dollar or a stone of rice tickets.

"Do you want silver, or do you want rice tickets?"

Every time a volunteer receives his salary, the baggage officer will ask a question.

Most of the volunteers were a little hesitant, so they chose to ask for rice tickets under the reminder of their companions!

"Put it away! When you want to use it, you can go to Longsheng to exchange huàn, and one stone of rice tickets can be exchanged for one stone of japonica rice. If it is not japonica rice or adulterated, you can go to the shopkeeper of the firm to send a report. Also, don't be fooled by the guys out there! At present, a rice ticket can be exchanged for three or four taels of silver! ”

When the baggage officer finished distributing the rice tickets, he would often point to the idlers outside the camp gate and probe their brains inward to remind the volunteers.

"Chen An, what do you think of this?"

"Second master, to be honest, I don't know the way of economy, but I always feel that in this way, the rice tickets that are prevalent in this long are accepted by people in Beijing and even in Gyeonggi! It's better than silver! ”

"But there must be rice to pay!"

"Yes! The sea route is not smooth, this is a piece of waste paper! ”

Taking advantage of the night, the group quietly came to the door of a mansion, and two little eunuchs came forward and knocked on the door.

"Father-in-law Gao came to meet the prince."

The person in the sedan chair is the high dive of the soldiers and horses who were ordered to supervise the army and the king of the world.

was led to his study by the little eunuch of Wang Chengen's family, Gao Qiqian immediately knelt down and kowtowed, whimpering incessantly.

"Ask the prince to avenge the slaves and maids!"

"Say it! What's up. It's rare that the emperor is in a good mood today, and he rested in Concubine Tian's palace early, so that our family can go home and steal a leisure. ”

Hearing that the taste in Wang Chengen's words was wrong, Gao Qiqian felt bad in his heart, but since he had already come, he simply had to say it.

"The slave wants to sue that Li Shouhan! This person has no king, is arrogant, hooks up with Lu Xiangsheng, and the two wolf bèi are treacherous! ”

Although Wang Chengen's title is only one of the many eunuchs who are written and accompanied by the eunuchs, he is the most trusted person in Chongzhen. Since he was a child, he has been serving in the Xinwang Mansion and is still a classmate of Zhu Youzhen, who is still the king of Xin. His mind is meticulous and calm, and his actions are cunning and ruthless, no less than that of Father-in-law Wei back then. Not only are the ministers afraid, but the foreign ministers are also very loyal to the emperor and are deeply favored by the emperor.

It just so happened that this prince had an almost innate hostility towards Gao Qiqian from his heart.

"You say, how did he provoke you?!"

Wang Chengen didn't even mean to let Gao Qi dive up and speak, he sat steadily on his four-stage official hat chair and drank tea, watching the shape of the tea leaves in the glass and the color of the tea soup.

"That guy relied on the strength of the soldiers and horses under his command, and he was in cahoots with Lu Xiangsheng wolf. Contrary to the will of the emperor not to fight. Thousands of miles to chase the enemy to Qingshui Mingyue Pass, not to mention the battle merits of the soldiers under the pass, but also humiliated the slave maid, and insulted the father-in-law in his words! ”

"Oh? What did he say?! ”

He wrote a passage on the wooden plaque that Donnu had left behind when he retreated. The rhetoric is extremely vicious and sinister! Say. Say. said that the slave and the slave and the slave and the slave led the soldiers and horses, and it was an eggless person who led a group of eggless people! ”

As soon as these words came out, not only Wang Chengen's face twitched. It is the eunuchs in the hall, all of whom change color. Hitting people doesn't slap people in the face, scolding people doesn't expose their shortcomings, but these words touched on one of the most fragile scars of the eunuchs.

"Smack!"

Wang Chengen smashed the glass carved teacup in his hand, and the tea leaves splashed on the ground.

"Toot! You damn slave! The emperor trusts you and appoints you to supervise the soldiers and horses of the king of the world, what about you?! Sitting on tens of thousands of male soldiers, they don't dare to send a single shot at Dongnu! If it weren't for Li Shouhan's victory in the west of the river, where would the emperor's face be placed?! If you don't dare to do it yourself, you dare to frame the ministers of the court here? Let's go to the palace! Tell the emperor about your lawlessness! ”

"Father-in-law! Father-in-law! My father-in-law is super born! ”

Seeing that Wang Chengen was about to leave the house and enter the palace, he couldn't help but feel that his liver and gall were split, he knew that Dongchang and Jinyiwei were under the control of Wang Chengen, and if he really planned to wear a pair of small shoes for him, it would be too easy.

"Tell you the truth! Today, the emperor has agreed with the adults in the cabinet to award Li Shouhan Wu's martial arts rank to the second rank of General Jinwu, the commander of the army, and the son of Yin Yizi is the Jinyi Wei Qianhu, and his several women The emperor is particularly gracious, and they are all rewarded to his wife and lady! ”

"Tomorrow, our family will be ordered to reward his military horses on behalf of the Son of Heaven, you dog slave, at this time you actually came to sue General Li for his black state! Are you planning to change places and stay in a different place?! ”

After speaking, Wang Chengen flicked the sleeves of his robe and turned to leave.

Gao Qiqian knelt on the floor of the study in a daze and didn't come back to his senses for a long time, what the hell is going on?! A guy of unknown origin, even if he has some credit, even the people around the emperor can tolerate such vicious words from him?

"Grandpa Gao, get up!"

A little eunuch in the palace dared to speak, although he said it, he didn't stretch out his hand to help.

"Hey! Father-in-law Gao, you don't know how to look at the wind and heat, what is the color of Li Shouhan now? The little eunuch's face was full of disdain.

"His 3,000 soldiers and horses can destroy 6,000 Dongnu, Gao Gonggong, you are among us who know how to lead the soldiers, in your opinion, if you come to fight, how many soldiers and horses will you get to destroy 6,000 Dongnu in a war? Well?! ”

The little eunuch's words pierced Gao Qiqian's heart like a sharp sword.

With his courage, it is one thing to dare to fight against Jiannu, but as far as the combat effectiveness of the current Ming official army is concerned, the war all depends on the general's family, and the combat effectiveness of the family is probably equivalent to that of Jiannu's armor and vest. But often a general has only a few hundred families able to go into battle, and he is reluctant to consume it.

"I'm afraid that even if tens of thousands of soldiers and horses are all pressed, they may not be able to win."

He was honest and said what was in his heart.

"Wow! If it was because of you, he annoyed Li Shouhan, he rebelled outside the capital, or simply walked away. Do you think the emperor will kill him, or will he punish your nine clans to make him angry? When Yuan Chonghuan was killed, the emperor didn't move a single hair! ”

The little eunuch's words were so frightened that the crotch of his tive pants was wet, and there was a smell of urine between his robes.

"Okay, it's not early, you can go back too!" The little eunuch twitched his nose in disgust, "Go back and change your clothes!" ”

"Thank you, father-in-law! Thank you father-in-law for your advice! Gao Qiqian took out a stack of rice tickets from his sleeve and quietly stuffed it, while thanking him incessantly.

"I don't know what my father-in-law is called, but we will be a lot closer in the future!"

"Well said! Our family's name is Wu Liangfu! (To be continued......)