Zamparini carefully wiped the saber in his hand, but out of the corner of his eye, he was looking at a group of Ming people wearing traditional Ming costumes on the grass in front of him. These Ming men arrived yesterday afternoon, and Zampariniyu, who was on duty at the time, remembered the situation: a group of cavalrymen in various costumes rode to the fortress where the New Army of the Eight Banners was stationed - well, maybe it is a bit inaccurate to say that they rode horses, because many of them were riding mules, donkeys or something, and then it was Li Zhengang, the magistrate of Dashun County, who had been here a few days ago, to negotiate with the warriors of the Eight Banners.

Within a few minutes of negotiation, a liaison staff officer came out of the city headquarters, who ordered the Eight Banners New Army to give up blocking these people from entering the city, and also ordered the officers and soldiers of the 104th Company of the Army who were on duty at the east gate of Yantai Fort to open the city gate. Zamparini, as the platoon commander on duty at the city gate, was immediately ordered to open the heavy wooden gate and put Li Zhengang and more than ten other people into the city, while the remaining 600 people who followed him were temporarily placed in the dock warehouse outside the east city gate to rest.

In the evening, Zamparini brought some North Korean cooks to the men a dinner for the day, which was a specially assigned sick meal from his superiors: a bowl of poached egg noodles, a small half of a large maha salted fish, and four steamed potatoes. Such a sumptuous meal made these people's eyes straight, especially the piece of salmon meat that weighed half a catty, which was devoured by them. This large fish caught from the Blackwater region is very fatty, oily, and not only tastes great, but also very hungry, and even though Zamparini has eaten it many times, he still finds it a rare delicacy.

At this time, the sun had just risen, and Akito on the opposite side was sitting around eating breakfast. Breakfast was boiled corn on the cob. Plus a small saury to accompany your meal. The officers were also able to enjoy an additional half a beer. This "extravagant" meal has caused them to talk a lot. After a long pause, a Akito who seemed to be a junior officer of the Shun army moved to Zamparini's side, and while looking at the sharp saber in his hand, he asked in a low voice, "This ...... Master Jun, dare to ask if you eat so well for two meals a day? Dare to love like the New Year. ”

"Two meals a day?" Zamparini was stunned for a moment, then quickly reacted: "No, this is not true. We East Coasters eat three meals a day, one at five in the morning, one at eleven at noon, and one at six in the evening; If there is still a combat mission at night. There will also be a late-night snack in the evening. Two meals a day doesn't guarantee that we have enough energy to train, it's not ...... Well, science! ”

Although Zamparini's accent was a little strange, and although there were many things in his words that he couldn't understand, the junior officer of the Shun army still understood the general meaning: "God! Really eat three meals a day, and fish to eat! Uh, by the way, do you have any money? Delinquent or not? ”

"Money? You're talking about military pay, right? Of course there is! Zamparini gave the junior officer a strange look, and then said, "What are we fighting for?" We fought for our country, for our loved ones, for our future, and of course for our military salaries. After all, we have to live too. The military department has paid our salaries, and we will fight bravely for the military headquarters. It's a matter of ethics. In fact, not only military salaries, but also the booty captured on the battlefield, after the battle, the logistics staff officers will register them one by one under the supervision of the soldiers' representatives, and then convert them into cash and distribute them to everyone in proportion, which is called a bonus. In addition to bonuses, there is also a subsidy for overseas stationing, and a subsidy equal to double the basic salary in the event of war. In short, there are many names, if anyone is not clear, they can ask the secretary of the company or the logistics staff officer next to Chief Mo, and they will answer in detail. As for the arrears of military salaries, this situation is rare, and it usually happens when you are fighting outside all year round, but it will be distributed to you immediately after the battle, and you will never be in arrears for any reason. If anyone really dares to owe the payment of a soldier's salary, once denounced by the soldier, he is afraid that this person will be severely tried by a military court, and he will probably be hanged. ”

After hearing this, the junior officer of the Shun army looked at the others behind him. Although the Shun army has been torturing the gentry, clans, and wealthy merchants to obtain military expenses, this method is not the right way after all, and the military expenses that can be obtained are not as much as imagined, and those who can receive the full amount of money are only those troops in the old camp. As for the second-line troops under Guo Sheng, it would be good to be able to receive a few taels of silver every once in a while. In this era when there is not enough to eat, it is a very luxurious thing to talk about military salaries, and everyone's greatest wish is to live with enough food.

But at this moment, they were really shocked to hear that these people on the east coast insisted on paying the soldiers in full and never defaulted. And more importantly, it is said that the platoon commander of the East Coast in front of him can receive at least 6-7 taels of silver per month during the Ming Dynasty, and if there is a war, his income may more than double. Think about the income of the Ming border army, the infantry is five cents of silver a day, and only one or two or five cents a month; The horsemen have two dollars of silver a day and six taels a month, but they have to be responsible for the cost of horse feed, and the rest is limited. What is devastating is that these military salaries of the Ming Dynasty have rarely been paid in full over the years, and the salaries of some border troops in Shaanxi have even been in arrears for two or three years.

Zamparini was just about to say something more, when he suddenly saw An Dahai, a veteran in the platoon, scratching his head and coming over with a pen and paper: "Platoon commander, this ...... I forgot how to fill this out, you can fill it out for me. ”

"Remittance? Do you want to send money back home? Zamparini took off the big cap on his head and said in surprise: "Well, you have many younger brothers and sisters in your family, and you have a lot of money to spend, but you are also too economical. Say, how much do you send? ”

"Fifty-eight dollars and five corners." An Dahai took out a "Wu Shiyuan" deposit certificate from the Black Water Management Office of the Northwest Reclamation Bank and some coins in a box. The deposit receipt is stamped with the official seal of the bank, as well as An Dahai's handprint, and there is a line written on the edge of the deposit receipt, to the effect that someone has deposited a little money on a certain day, a certain year, a certain month, and a certain day. These words were torn in half and used as proof of withdrawal; Of course, these alone are not enough, you also know that the password you left in the bank, the password can be a string of numbers, or a paragraph, in short, it depends on how you and the bank agreed.

Zamparini shook his head and said in a surprised tone: "Lao An, haven't you spent much money in the past six months?" I saved so much money and sent it back, tsk, you are the most picky soldier in this company. ”

An Dahai also shook his head and smiled. He and Zamparini were soldiers of the same year, and both served in the 4th Company of the Army. Later, the Ministry of War newly established the 104th Company of the Army in Ping'an County, and a group of people were transferred from the active and demobilized veterans of the 4th Company to serve as the backbone of the 104th Company. As a result, their personal relationship is actually very good, and the optimistic Zamparini often makes innocuous jokes, while the more shy An Dahai doesn't care.

Zamparini finished filling out the remittance form with a few strokes, and then asked An Dahai to come over and sign it, press the handprint, and then handed it to him and said: "Go to the company headquarters to find Secretary Lin to sign, and then report it to the staff officer for approval after signing, and then you don't have to worry about it." The logistics staff will submit your remittance slip to the Heishui Port for processing, and if nothing else, your family will receive cash from the Coal River Branch of the Ping'an Branch of the Northwest Reclamation Bank by this time next year. ”

The two of them talked and laughed and laughed and there was already a circle of Shun officers and soldiers next to them, although they didn't understand some things too well, but they finally understood that this was bringing money to their families, and they were carrying more than sixty taels of silver. The officer didn't even deduct it! The scribes who handle it don't seem to be able to pluck their hair! This...... Is there such a good thing in the world?

"Military ...... Platoon commander, do you still accept people? My name is Liqun, from Xinxiang, Henan, and I am old and fighting. As long as you take care of my food, and pay two more salaries from time to time, my life will be sold to you? A small officer of the Shun army said suddenly.

Before Zamparini could say anything, another officer of the Shun army next to him said: "Master Mo is also the official of our Dashun, and Guo Dashuai wants to lead the troops to retreat west to follow King Chuang, and ask us to help Lord Li (Zhengang) here, and Lord Li is an official under Lord Mo, then we are also Lord Mo's soldiers." ”

"Yes, yes! We are also Lord Mo's soldiers, let's give our lives to Lord Mo! Guo Shuai didn't let us retreat west with the old battalion, just let us listen to Master Mo's moderation. The enthusiasm of the grassroots officers of the Shun Army gradually increased. Guo Sheng's troops have always been second-line troops in the Shun army, and their treatment is quite average; And their group, including Zhao Yingyuan, who is currently struggling to support in Qingzhou, is the second line of the second line, for no other reason, just because they are all Luo Rucai's old department. After Luo Rucai was killed by Li Zicheng, his troops were annexed, and the life of the senior generals may be a little better, but the ordinary soldiers are a little difficult, and it is inevitable to suffer some discrimination and difficulties on weekdays.

However, they are the people who have not surrendered to the Manchus until the last moment of the battle in history, and they are stronger than those bullshit armies of the Southern Ming Dynasty in terms of temperament, so much so that they don't know where they are. A total of 300 cavalry came with Li Zhengang this time, all of whom were veterans of old battles, which was a valuable asset to the people on the east coast who lacked cavalry. In addition to them, there were also several local officials of Dashun who were chased and fled in embarrassment, and they had a few dozen people on hand, and more than a hundred people, adding up to more than 300 people. Although their combat skills are average and their military literacy is also very low, it is rare that they are relatively resolute in their will, and if they are well trained, they may not be able to fight.

Zamparini was thinking about it, but he heard a sharp whistle at the city gate, and saw Mao Desheng, the commander of the 104th Company, riding a tall horse surrounded by soldiers.

"Assemble! Gather! Get ready to board the ship and pick up supplies and people! Mao Desheng's adjutant shouted at a loud voice. (To be continued......)