The rooster dawns, and the east is white

The thin night has not completely dispersed, and a small village on the southern outskirts of Baoqing Mansion is already full of people. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info

It's a small village, but it's not. Because all the military households living in it are Baoqingwei, it is considered a military household. Originally, there should be more than 100 households, but it happened to be a 100-household establishment. In recent years, due to the exploitation of military leaders, many military households have chosen to flee, and at least only a little more than half of them remain. However, since the beginning of this year, the fleeing military families have been returning to their hometowns one after another, and some displaced people have also been attracted by the policy of dividing the land of the health center to apply for naturalization, and the village has gradually begun to show signs of recovery to its heyday.

Bao Qingwei and even the south are under the command of the envoys, and military households like this abound. But today, it has been more than 200 years since Chengping in the entire southern interior, and most of the original military households no longer pay attention to their military status, and they have become out-and-out peasants. And because the south is not as smoky as the northern border, except for those areas bordering the young villages, most of the cantonments have not built defense facilities, and they have been passed down for 200 years, and they have long been the same as traditional villages.

Unlike the calm of the past, there are also big things happening in the small village.

Zhang Santong dressed neatly and came out of his home in the west of the village, talking to his family members as he walked.

He is a soldier of the first division of the B team of the Huguang Town Trap Camp, who just joined the army last year, and he still has the honest smile of a rural youth on his face when he speaks. But the military appearance was not sloppy at all, a brand-new mandarin duck battle jacket and the iron armor outside were neatly hung. A bronze fourth-class warrior medal on his chest added a lot of spirit.

Because the army returned north from Guangzhou, passing through Baoqing for a temporary stop, yesterday Pang Yue specially allowed soldiers who were near Baoqing Fucheng. Both military and civilian households can go home for one night and report back to the camp early this morning.

"Santong, I thought you could stay a few more days, but I didn't expect to leave so soon. It's not a peaceful season, so take care of yourself when you return to the army! Zhang's mother reluctantly straightened her son's shoulder towel and wiped her tears.

"Mother. Don't worry, I'll take care of myself. Chenzhou is not far from our home, and I will come back to see you as soon as the army is on vacation. "I saw my mother crying. Zhang Santong couldn't help but be moved, and hurriedly comforted.

"Look at your old woman, what kind of tears did you shed for good things?" Father Zhang said unhappily, "Santong." Don't listen to your mother. Return to the army and follow Hou Ye to work hard, kill more Tartars on the battlefield, and win more glory for our old Zhang family! You don't have to worry about the affairs of the family, thanks to the blessing of the Hou Ye, our family is now divided into dozens of acres of land, and your eldest brother and second brother have divided their families and gone out to be a single independent household, and they have also been allocated to the fields, and the days in the future will only get better and better. You can kill the enemy with peace of mind! ”

Count the wife who wiped her tears. Zhang's father then became happier the more he talked. It's been decades, and life at home hasn't been so good. At the end of last year, the family divided more than 30 acres of land. This autumn was another bumper harvest, and in addition to handing in the grain and enough food for his family, he was able to save a considerable portion of the harvest. Unlike in previous years, when there was no land at home, the military field handed down by the ancestors had long been absorbed by the military leaders of the guard, and he was so tired that he was half dead, not to mention, even if he encountered a rare good year, it was just to make ends meet.

The only thing that made Zhang's father feel a little regretful was that the eldest son Zhang Datong was a little disabled in his feet, and the second son Zhang Ertong was thin and weak, so he couldn't join the army like the third son, so he could only honestly farm and pay grain at home. I think that at the beginning, Zhang's father was still happy about this, and felt that the two sons did not have to join the army and were assigned to the field, which was considered to be a advantage. But later, with the victory of Huguang Town again and again, the generous treatment of military dependents gradually appeared. The admiring eyes of the people from other villages, the reduced and exempted field tax, the silver bounties issued by the army brought back by the third son from time to time, and the matchmakers who constantly came to the door to talk to the matchmaker for the third child, made Zhang's father feel a little less satisfied in his heart: if the eldest and second child can also join the army, wouldn't the field tax be reduced or reduced more, and wouldn't the reward silver brought back also more?

"I know, Dad, you and your mother should take care of your body at home, don't be too tired." Zhang Santong nodded, and looked at the brothers on the side, "Big brother, second brother, I'm not at home, my father and mother will be taken care of by you, you are a little tired." The fourth brother and fifth brother usually help their parents do more work at home. ”

Brotherhood, blood is thicker than water, and the words between brothers are not too flowery, but the meaning is self-evident.

"Xiaoshan, don't make trouble, return the hat to the third uncle, the third uncle is leaving." Zhang Datong limped a few steps, took the red tasseled iron helmet that his son was playing hard, and handed it to Zhang Santong, "Third child, you don't have to worry about your parents, you should pay attention to yourself on the battlefield!" ”

"Big brother, I know, you should take care of yourself." After Zhang Santong finished speaking, he came to his pouting nephew again, touched his head, and said with a smile, "Xiaoshan, don't worry, you can have this when you join the army in a few years, maybe it will be better than the third uncle's current helmet." ”

The family burst into a hearty laugh.

"Santong, what are you doing slowly? It's waiting for you! A loud voice came.

Zhang Santong looked at the sound, and it turned out to be the chief of his own Shizhong, and Hu Dapeng, the son of the hundred households in the tunsuo. Beside him, almost all the young people in the village who had joined the army had arrived, there were more than twenty people, most of them wearing the white iron armor unique to the trapped camp. The family members who saw them off were in a large group and stood on both sides of the road in the village.

In Huguang Town, in principle, the children of military households and craftsmen who join the army are divided and organized according to the cantonment where their homes are located, and the children of civilian households are also grouped according to their neighbors and neighborhoods.

Due to the short time he has been in the army, the more than 20 young people in the Bentun Institute are basically still the big soldiers, and Hu Dapeng, who is the commander of the army, is the highest military rank and the faint leader among them.

Hu Dapeng's family originally held the hereditary military position of the general banner, and at the end of last year, when the supervision group of the envoy was in Baoqing to investigate the traitors and eliminate the evil and clear the land, the original 100 households in the Bentun Institute could not escape the way of killing their heads and raiding their homes because of their insatiable greed. Hu's father, who has always been cautious, was able to come out and succeed to the position of Baihu.

Hu Dapeng, who was born in a family of military officers, has been practicing martial arts since he was a child, and he has grown tall and strong, so he is naturally like a fish in water after joining the army. He made meritorious contributions in the battles of Wanshou Bridge, Hengshan and Guangzhou, and was not only the first to become a military commander, but also won a silver third-class warrior medal. made his Lao Tzu, who had just been a hundred households for a long time, overjoyed, and smiled from ear to ear.

"Hurry up!" After saying goodbye to his family, Hu Dapeng shouted at Zhang Santong again.

"It's coming, it's coming. That father, mother, eldest brother and second brother, fourth brother and fifth brother, I'm leaving! ”

"Take care!"

"Take care!"

"Third brother, take care!"

......

When her son's back was far away, Zhang's mother suddenly remembered something. He said with annoyance: "Look at my memory, the old Zheng family in the neighboring village came to propose marriage, I just talked to the third child last night." I haven't had time to ask him for an answer! ”

Zhang's father glanced at his wife disapprehantly: "Why are you in a hurry?" Who is the third child now? Still worried about not being able to find your mother-in-law? Zheng Laohei has a few acres of broken land at home, hasn't he always looked down on our military families? Now you know that you are sending your daughter to the door? I also asked him to hurry for a while, so that he knew who was going to see whose face now! ”

......

When the soldiers from Baoqing returned to the camp one after another, the soldiers in the camp in Huguang Town, outside the city, were almost packed.

One tent after another was put away. Grain and grass baggage reloading. The soldiers were organized in formation under the command of the officers, and from time to time sentry cavalry came and went, shuttling back and forth between the camp and the guard commander in the city, conveying orders one after another......

Orderly, busy but not chaotic.

In the city, the guard commanded the embassy and the office

Pang Yue asked people to find Ma Yuancheng, director of the Intelligence Department, and retreated.

"In this matter, you must choose competent and reliable people to handle it. Don't travel or delay, the sooner the better! Pang Yue personally handed over the three letters to Ma Yuancheng. In addition, I will ask Staff Officer Liu Cheng of the General Staff Department to go with the person you have selected, and I will protect him well on the way. ”

"Don't worry, sir! Subordinates guarantee foolproof! ”

Although Ma Yuancheng didn't know the content of the letter, he also knew that Liu Cheng was Pang Yue's brother-in-law, and he didn't need to think much about it to guess that this matter was extraordinary.

Seeing Ma Yuancheng leave, Pang Yue's mind was full of thoughts.

Of the two letters he handed over to Ma Yuancheng, two were written by himself and the other by his wife, Liu Bing'er, both destined for Guangzhou.

Last night's conversation between husband and wife completely resolved the long-standing mystery in Pang Yue's heart, and Liu Bing'er's life story was revealed.

At that time, Pang Yue, who had just learned the truth, was almost stunned, his courage was not small, but he never thought that Liu Bing'er's father, that is, his cheap father-in-law, was actually one of the members of the "Eighteen Zhi" pirate group that crisscrossed the South China Sea more than ten years ago, and Liu Xiang, who could compete with Zheng Zhilong.

Twelve years ago, Liu Xiang, who was unwilling to join the Ming court, was defeated in the final battle with Zheng Zhilong, killing Zheng Zhilong's second brother Zheng Zhihu and then committing suicide with a gun. Most of his subordinates were scattered, and a pair of children were escorted away from home by the heart and abdomen.

The shock was followed by the joy, of course, Pang Yue's joy has nothing to do with Liu Xiang's tragedy, he is not a ruthless person, even if he has no intersection with his father-in-law, he will definitely not be indifferent to his tragedy or even gloat. It's really because the box that his wife handed him has brought too many surprises.

A full set of sea ship drawings, navigation charts, and many old subordinates left by the old man, no matter what they were, it was undoubtedly a relief to Pang Yue, who was anxious to build a sea master.

A conversation with his wife last night also surfaced in Pang Yue's mind again at this moment:

"Why did the lady tell her husband the truth now?"

"As a wife, I want to see if my husband is sincere."

"Huh?"

"Hehe, husband, don't take it seriously, I'm joking with you. The reason why I only tell the truth now is for the sake of my husband. Daddy's old subordinates back then were naturally loyal to Daddy, but I can't guarantee what they think of their husband now. The husband is now the governor of the right capital and the marquis, and he can't be in a hurry like before and lose his own initiative. Of course, this is just a little idea for the wife herself, and the words of the woman's family are sometimes not taken seriously, and the husband naturally has to decide on major matters. ”

"Where, where, the lady is really a virtuous helper for her husband!" (To be continued.) )