"Serve a bird, this plague scholar, I have probably never seen the power of the thieves and the Dongyu."

The thieves are no more, Chen Hongfan feels that he still has the strength to fight, as for the Dongyu, when he thinks of the other party's ferociousness, cruelty and barbarism, as well as the excellent armor and many cavalry, any one of them is called Chen Hongfan has a sense of powerlessness.

And he now knows very well that after the surrender of King Sanshun and Wu Sangui, the Qing army will have a large number of artillery and firearms.

In particular, Kong Youdebu is particularly good at casting cannons and building firecrackers. The hole fire gun, are made of fine iron, all according to the requirements of Qi Jiguang, each with high-grade fine iron Seiko to build, there were craftsmen in the Dongjiang area, and Denglai rebellion, but also a large number of craftsmen rolled to Liaodong, the current Qing army, in the firearms has surpassed the Ming Dynasty.

With the ferociousness of the Eight Banners Army, although Chen Hongfan was a military attache leading troops, he never had the slightest sense of identity with the changes in Jiangbei.

"Shao Sima, Master Ma, it's better to eat first, hurry up early after eating, it is less than forty miles away from Qingjiang, around dark, I'm afraid I can arrive."

The river embankment is easy to navigate, and the official road in front is also well repaired, and the fast horses gallop, and they will definitely be able to reach it before dark.

Zuo Maodi was in a very happy mood at this time, because he smiled at the flood guard: "I'm sorry, I want to borrow your territory to eat this lunch." ”

"This is a fortunate thing for the lower officials and everyone, every five days the officials gather for a meeting, and there will be a cowhide to blow at that time."

I never thought that this little guy would always have the ability to talk and laugh, but when I thought about the military attachés I saw along the way after going north, they were all considered talents, and then I thought of the past when the prince Sha Tai was old and weak and promoted young and keen generals, Zuo Maodi's admiration and longing for the crown prince was even stronger.

"The matter of the northern envoy must be completed by asking the crown prince to give him a face-to-face lecture."

In an instant, Zuo Maodi also made up his mind. He was not born in Donglin and did not have any prejudices against the crown prince. On the contrary, if it weren't for the crown prince, it would be hard to imagine what kind of situation Daming has fallen to now?

As long as there is a little bit of people's hearts and people who are willing to continue to exist in this great empire, there will be nothing to say about the merits of the crown prince!

It's just that the crown prince is young after all, and although many things are attacked, it can be seen that His Royal Highness has Meng Lang's actions, but now it seems that the crown prince is thoughtful and thoughtful, and the cloth is far above ordinary people.

"Your Excellency, please."

The flood guard was regarded as a heavenly man by Zuo Maodi, but in fact, he was still holding back a belly of inappropriateness. He is bent on joining the Pingyu Army, even if the current Liupin General quits, he can just give him a shack chief!

But because of his outstanding performance, the deputy general stationed in Yangzhou would not let him go, and he would not succeed.

Now there is a rumor that he may be mentioned as a sub-inspector in charge of more than a dozen Xuntang, and he has been promoted from the total of six products to the total number of five products, riding horses and swords, and patrolling around.

The official character is prestigious, and there is a real responsibility, so he stayed. Otherwise, he would rather quit his errand first, and then go to the Pingyu Army to join the army, starting as a small soldier, it is better than being trapped in this news fort.

There have been many rumors about everything in the Pingyu Army, and any small army has been training for months, from armor to weapons and firearms.

Of course, such a large army will not be trapped in one place, and in the future, there will be big battles to be fought.

If the husband wants to establish a meritorious career, he must join this strong army.

With this kind of thought, of course I won't take the errand in front of me too seriously, even if the squire of the military department comes, how will I wait?

It's just that Zuo Maodi and the others are at this time, and this flood guard will introduce people attentively, although the flood castle is not big, there is a canteen, but it is also very spacious and clean...... This is the rule of imitating the Pingyu Army, and on top of this, the town defense army is the same as the Pingfu Army.

Of course, Zuo Maodi and the others have food to eat, and there is someone to do it, so when you wait, you might as well chat.

Chen Hongfan only mentioned the intention of inviting Zuo Maodi to come over at this time: "Young Sima, the last general will observe the situation on Huai, and he is also very curious about Qingjiang. Originally, we could go north by boat, but the last general thought that we could go to Qingjiang to meet the prince, see the situation of the Pingyu army on the spot, and return to Nanjing in the future. ”

Although he was an official and a governor of the left, he still respected the governor and the civil officials above him as the last general or the lower official according to the previous rules, and he respected him very much in etiquette.

Listening to his words, Zuo Maodi was overjoyed and said with a smile: "I don't dare to ask for it." ”

"Haha, my lord's words are serious." Chen Hongfan had a ghost in his heart, and when he saw Zuo Maodi's light and wind and moon, his heart became more and more nervous, and he laughed at the moment, and flattered: "Among the missions, the adults are respected, and it is appropriate for the adults to be the masters. ”

This person was so humble that Zuo Maodi was very strange, and he was about to say something more, but he smelled a strong aroma of food between his noses.

"Hey, you're ready to cook so quickly?"

He couldn't help but ask. A family member next to him smiled and said, "Master, how can it be so fast?" It's the soldiers' food, not ours. ”

"Oh, I'll see what the soldiers eat."

Zuo Maodi was in a relaxed mood, and people were also troubled, and he walked around, but there was indeed a meal for the flood soldiers in the corner, steaming, and white smoke was rising upward.

"It smells good, it smells good."

Zuo Maodi praised first, but then he was taken aback. The rice on the table was all white rice, which was already very rare, and there were several round clay pots, which were steaming hot, and the smell of meat and vegetables obviously emanated from here.

"Hui sir, this is a can of march."

The interrogator stood with his hands on the side, and then stepped forward and replied: "This is just sent by the quartermaster of the Pingyu Army, and we are told to try it for a while." This news is cut off from the river road, there are no people for several miles around, and there is only a small market ten miles away, and it is easy for dozens of brothers to eat, but it is difficult to eat. Usually you have to practice, and you can't raise chickens and pigs, and the meat and vegetables are all sent from above. ”

"I see."

There are smoked bacon and other things in the corner, which is obviously a solution to the problem of eating. As for this can, Zuo Maodi had never heard of it, because he asked the flood guard, "Is there anything surprising about this?" ”

"Yes." Speaking of this, the Xun Shouguan was also very excited, and said with a smile: "The clay pot is easy to make, and it is cheap, and the meat and vegetables are put in it, and they can be stored for a long time by sealing it by secret method. ”

"I see, I see."

Zuo Maodi's expression was also full of surprise, and Ma Shaoyu, who was originally watching the excitement with his hands behind his back, also showed a look of surprise on his face. He was a man who had been ordered to travel long distances many times, and sometimes there was no food in the wilderness, and it was not uncommon for him to stand up and not eat. At that time, after a long period of war and disasters in the north, it was not uncommon for people to be inhabited for dozens of miles or to find food, and if you had this kind of thing, there would be no danger of starvation.

"In addition to this thing, there are dry food and other things, add water and beat, layer by layer until it solidifies and dries, take a piece, soak it in water, and a piece can withstand several meals."

"It's rare, it's really rare."

This time, even Chen Hongfan, who was full of ghosts, was full of praise. The Song people treated the soldiers as criminals, and tattooed words on their foreheads to prevent them from escaping. Although it is an insult, the treatment is really not bad, a small army defending the city can also support the family.

And the Ming military household is equivalent to a beggar. Ming Taizu's idea was not to spend the country's financial resources to raise soldiers, so at the beginning of the country, military households not only had to farm their own land to support themselves, but also handed over grain. Of course, such a system could not last long, so the battalion system rose accordingly. However, even so, the idea of treating soldiers as beggars and criminals was inherited, and the military was originally in charge of logistics by the Governor's Office, but it was later robbed by civilian officials. And the corruption of civilian officials is no worse than that of military generals, and as for the abuse of soldiers, it is not a problem. During the march, the army was not allowed to bring its own food, and it was all supplied from all localities, and in order to prevent the sergeants from eating too much and occupying too much, it was also stipulated that there was no food to eat on the day of arrival, and that they should be hungry for one day, and then they would have food the next day.

In this way, it is a very dangerous thing for the Ming army to pull out the camp and set up camp, because all the soldiers know that as long as the camp is together, no matter how much they walk this day, they will go to bed hungry anyway.

In this way, the loyal and honest ones save a little food to take with them, and as for whether it is spoiled, it is unknown. And it is also common for those who are slick and ferocious to rob the people. The poor discipline and poor combat effectiveness of the Ming army, in addition to the lack of pay and training, and the complete lack of honor among the officers and men, were naturally also important reasons.

In the current situation, canned dry food is just a small section, and the good intentions of the crown prince and Xingying are the most important things.

"Well, I don't know what to say."

The trip to the north is only so small, and the impact is big enough. Whether it is administrative reform, or salt class, Li Jin, all show the difference between Jiangbei and other places, and the financial abundance is also very obvious, everywhere is building water conservancy, widening and leveling roads, this in the Ming Dynasty, Zuo Maodi has lived for decades, I am afraid it is the first time to see.

Even if he himself served as a governor, he thought that he was too far behind the crown prince in various aspects, especially in the rule of new officials and the elimination of bad government.

As for Xuntang's separate land and defense, fine equipment, strict training, heavy inspection, and various measures, it seems that the towns of Xuhuai, Yang, and Sisui are closely connected, and when the official roads in various places are rebuilt, they are stationed in Xuntang Fort by separate roads, and the sound and atmosphere are connected, and the strength of the defense battalions in each city is strong, and even if the enemy has hundreds of thousands of troops in unison, it is difficult to have the possibility of a successful attack.

And as long as Fujian, Zhejiang, Hu, Guangnan, and Zhili are also reformed into an army like Jiangbei here, and all systems are like here, what are you afraid of when the thieves join forces with the Dongyu?

"I'll wait for the meal as soon as possible, and I'll leave quickly after the meal." Zuo Maodi looked excited, and said loudly: "I want to ask him to meet His Royal Highness the Prince, please give him the opportunity to go north!" ”

(To be continued)