Datong, the royal compound.

Wang Puzheng and Zhen Youcai are discussing things.

Zhen Youcai's eyes were sunken, his eyes were bloodshot, and he was wearing a loose cotton jacket, and the whole person looked like a vampire.

This is all tired, from the end of the first month of the fifteenth year of Chongzhen to the beginning of April, Zhen Youcai really did a lot of things for Wang Pu, he almost did everything except leading the troops to fight, he was responsible for escorting the 100,000 stone grain in Beitongzhou back to Datong, the pension of the fallen soldiers was personally settled and distributed by him, and there were three weapons workshops and two gunpowder bureaus from Zhang Zi'an's hands, which Zhen Youcai was also operating and managing.

There are too many things that Zhen Youcai needs to handle, and he has to be busy from morning to dark almost every day, and he rarely has time to rest.

In addition to governing the army and leading the troops, Wang Pu also let go and handed over all the big and small affairs to Zhen Youcai, on the one hand, because Wang Pu trusted Zhen Youcai, or he was not suspicious of employing people, but on the other hand, it was also because Wang Pu's subordinates were short of people, and he was forced to use Zhen Youcai to death.

Looking at the exhausted Zhen Youcai, Wang Pu's eyes were full of guilt, and he said, "Youcai, I've worked hard for you." ”

"General, where are these words?" Zhen Youcai said solemnly, "Thanks to the general's affordability, he will leave all the big and small things to the lowly position to take care of, and I dare not say anything other than the lowly position, but there is one thing that the general can rest assured, the lowly post will do his best to handle all affairs well, and he will definitely let the general have soldiers and food in his hands, and let the brothers have guns and bullets in their hands." ”

As he spoke, Zhen Youcai took out another account book from his sleeve and handed it to Wang Pudao: "General, this is the account recorded by the villain, please take a look." ”

Wang Pu pushed the account book back in front of Zhen Youcai and said, "Look at it, you don't need to, you can pick a few main things to talk about." ”

"Yes." Zhen Youcai responded respectfully and said, "As of the first day of the fourth month of the fifteenth year of Chongzhen, the 100,000 stone grain purchased from Beitongzhou has been transported back to Datong in batches; A total of 1,072 new muskets and 7,926 dragon cannons with handles were created in the armory. ”

Wang Pu couldn't help but ask: "What about the paper shell bombs, how many rounds have been produced?" ”

Nen Niang's unintentional initiative reminded Wang Pu of the paper shell bullet invented by the Swedes, so he immediately sent someone to find Zhen Youcai, who was in charge of the operation of the weapons workshop and the gunpowder bureau.

"More than eight thousand rounds have been produced." Zhen Youcai said this, and then said, "In addition, more than 600,000 cattle, sheep and camels purchased from Zhang Zi'an, some of which were discounted to compensate for the purchase of refined iron and sulfur from Shaanxi and Jingshi, and partly to offset the salaries of the soldiers and the pensions of the fallen soldiers, and the rest has been made into bacon, totaling more than 18 million catties, and more than 30,000 horses have also been sold, and more than 200,000 taels of silver have been obtained. ”

"Okay." Wang Pu couldn't help but say, "Well done, you didn't disappoint me." ”

Zhen Youcai said modestly: "I just did what I could." ”

"These things are important." Wang Pu said solemnly, "It's already the beginning of April, and Jiannu's Eight Banners Iron Cavalry may kill Datong at any time, if we can't prepare in advance, we will suffer a big loss when Jiannu kills in front of us!" ”

While the two were talking, Lu Liu suddenly came in and said, "General, the second master is asking to see you outside the courtyard." ”

"Second brother?" Wang Pu scratched his head and asked, "What is he looking for me for?" ”

As mentioned above, the Ming Dynasty's horse captains were not allowed to be officials or lead soldiers according to convention, and once someone became a horse captain, the whole family could not be an official, but in fact not all of them were like this, the implementation of this ancestral system in the Zhu Ming Dynasty was not thorough, and there were still many horses and horses who had led soldiers and served as garrisons.

By Emperor Chongzhen, the Ming Dynasty was already in turmoil, and he looked down on these red tapes, so Wang Pu's second brother Wang Hua did not retreat according to the system, but still served as the official of Datong Mansion.

Lu Liuying said: "The second master said that there is an important military situation. ”

"Important military information?" Wang Pu's heart jumped, and he said hurriedly, "Quick, let my second brother come in." ”

Lu Liu took the order and left, and soon Wang Hua scolded and scolded into the warm pavilion, and said unhappily: "I said the third child, it's really getting harder and harder to see you now?" Hey, isn't this the royal compound anymore? It's still not our Wang family's property, why is it so difficult for me, the second master of the Wang family, to see someone? ”

"The second brother is angry, and the second brother is angry." Wang Pu hurriedly got up, let Wang Hua go to the pit, and said with a smile, "Of course this is the Wang family's compound, of course the second brother can come if he wants, but isn't the younger brother pretending to be sick this time?" In order to block the news, the younger brother asked Lu Liu to look at them strictly, but they didn't expect that Lu Liu, the cub-free son, would not even let the second brother enter, but the younger brother swore that this was never ordered by the younger brother. ”

"Gotta get it, who doesn't know your little bit of caution?" Wang Hua said, "I've been a brother for more than 20 years, I'll tell you, the second brother will know what kind of fart you're going to put when you pout your ass...... Okay, I won't talk to you about this, I came to you today to have a business, just sent an official document from Shaanxi, there is a stream of rogue who has returned to Mizhi, and now Yan'an Mansion, Qingyang Mansion and Pingliang Mansion are all reversed, and the official document also said that this group of thieves may invade Shanxi eastward next, so that the prefectures and states of Shanxi are ready. ”

Wang Pu was overjoyed when he heard this: "Second brother, is the three mansions of Shaanxi really reversed?" ”

"It's the opposite." Wang Hua didn't have a good breath and said, "I know that you are careful, so I rushed to tell you, now you don't have to pretend to be sick anymore, the three mansions of Shaanxi rebelled, according to the second brother and my experience in officialdom for many years, Fu Zonglong, the governor of the three sides of Shaanxi, is afraid that he will die this time, and these wine bags and rice bags in Shanxi and Shaanxi are not the opponents of thieves at all, and now Hong Chengchou is dealing with Li Zicheng in Henan, and there is no one available in the court, so long live the lord still has to use the third child." ”

Zhen Youcai said: "The second master's analysis is very reasonable, and he also thinks that the general will soon be able to lead the general army of Datong." ”

"It doesn't matter whether the Datong General Army is actually awarded or not, the important thing is that I finally don't have to go back to Beijing." Wang Pu smiled and said, "It's not that I'm bragging, just with the current power of our Wang family in Datong, even if I, Wang Pu, don't lead the general army of this Datong Town, the army of this Datong Town still has to be commanded by my Wang Pu, hehe." ”

Zhen Youcai thought deeply and said, "That's it." ”

"Third child, I advise you to take it easy, don't be too sharp." Wang Hua persuaded, "In Datong, our Wang family has some forces, and ordinary people don't take them seriously, let's just say that Wei Daben, the prefect of Datong, and Wang Qiaonian, the governor of Shanxi, have to be respectful to me, but we can't just not know that the sky is high and the earth is thick, don't forget that the acting king is also in Datong." ”

Wang Pudao: "Second brother, the younger brother knows, the younger brother will be measured." ”

"Hmm." Wang Hua nodded, got up and said, "That's okay, the second brother will leave first if he still has something to do." ”

Wang Pu said: "Second brother is busy with you." ”

Wang Hua came to the door, and suddenly turned around and said, "Hey, I said the third brother, why does the second brother think that you are becoming more and more like the head of our Wang family?" Recently, the eldest brother has not done much business, so he cares about running around for you, buying refined iron and sulfur or something, and the second brother and I are about to become the eyes and ears of your placement in Datong officialdom. ”

"It's called the ability to work hard." Wang Puyu said with a smile, "Who let the eldest brother know how to do business, and the second brother you know how to be an official?" ”

"This is your kid with a conscience."

Wang Hua snorted twice, and then turned around.

When Wang Hua walked away, Wang Pucai said to Lu Liu: "Liu'er, you immediately go to Lulu Mountain, and let Zhao Xin, Tang Sheng, and the monk come to Datong immediately." ”

"Yes."

Lu Liu answered and took the order.

■■■

The county town of Mizhi has now become the base camp of the rebel army.

In the past half a month, thousands of rebel troops have been converging on Mizhi from 408 every day, and the scale of the rebel army is expanding at an alarming speed, Ma Shouying, He Yilong, He Jin, Liu Xiyao, Lin Yangcheng and others are so happy, but Li Yan, who is the chief general, is not happy.

What is there to be happy about?

The vast majority of the rebel army who came to defect were poor people who had no food and clothing, supported the old and the young, and there were not many strong men who could really go to the battlefield to fight, and what worried Li Yan the most was, how to solve the problem of food for the growing rebel army? Most of the rebels who came to join the army came empty-handed, and now that they have become Li Yan's subordinates, Li Yan has the responsibility to solve their food problems.

The grain snatched from the official warehouses in various counties of Yan'an Prefecture has not been able to support it for many days, what should I do next after eating this grain? Can't the soldiers of the Righteous Army follow the refugees in Shaanxi to gnaw tree bark and eat grass roots, right? In order to solve the problem of military rations, Li Yan has not eaten well and slept well for three whole days.

Li Yan was restless in bed, and the red lady was also anxious, but she couldn't do anything.

On this day, the red lady took more than a dozen horsemen to hunt in Lao Ya Mountain, dozens of miles away, and wanted to hunt a few pheasants to stew soup to make up for Li Yan's body, but the pheasants did not fight but encountered bandits.

The Red Lady is bold, and she didn't put this gang of bandits in her eyes, so she forcibly broke through with more than a dozen cavalry soldiers, and the bandits naturally won't let go of the fat meat in their mouths, and rushed down from the mountain beam with a whistle, and a bandit leader rode a horse and raised a knife to the Red Lady, and when the Red Lady was about to fight with a sword, the bandit leader suddenly shouted: "Senior sister, it's you!?" ”

The red lady was shocked when she heard this, and she reined in her mount and asked vigilantly, "Who are you?" ”

The bandit leader circled around the red lady twice, and shouted excitedly: "Senior sister, you don't know me? I'm your senior brother Jing Maocheng! ”

"Huh?" The red lady was overjoyed when she heard this, "You are Senior Brother Jing?" ”

"It's me." Jing Maocheng laughed and said, "Hahaha, I didn't expect to meet my junior sister here." ”

After that, the bandit leader Jing Maocheng shouted to the surroundings again: "Stop, stop all, it's all your own family!" ”

The red lady also hurriedly drank more than a dozen of her own cavalry soldiers, but fortunately, the two of them drank in time, and no one in the two groups was killed, only two bandits were slightly injured.

The red lady stepped forward immediately and asked, "Senior Brother Jing, why are you here?" ”

"Don't mention it." Jing Maocheng smiled bitterly, "After leaving Henan, I originally thought of joining the army on the nine sides, thinking that with this martial arts, how could I mix a hundred households, a thousand households or something, even if I can't honor my ancestors, at least I can mix without worrying about food and clothing, but who would have thought that I would offend a general within a few days of joining the army, and I almost didn't take my life." ”

The red lady asked nervously, "What happened later?" ”

"Later, in a fit of rage, I killed the general, and then I ran to this old crow mountain and fell into the grass, and I can be regarded as pulling up hundreds of brothers to this day." Jing Maocheng said, and then asked the red lady, "Senior sister, didn't you and Li Yan follow King Chuang in Henan?" Why did you come to Yan'an Mansion again? ”

"It's a long time to say this, and my little sister won't be able to finish it for a while." The red lady's beautiful eyes turned, and she suddenly remembered that if she could pull Jing Maocheng and his bandits under the command of Xianggong, it would be a new force that should not be underestimated, and immediately said, "Senior brother, there is a sentence that the little sister doesn't know whether to say or not?" ”

Jing Maocheng said: "Senior sister, you say." ”

The red lady said: "Nesting in this old crow mountain to block the road and rob is not a long-term solution after all, and it also buries your good martial arts, senior brother, your good martial arts, now the Ming Dynasty has rotted to the bones, Chuang Wang is eloquent, one day will take the Ming Dynasty and replace it, why not join the command of Chuang Wang, and establish a meritorious career?" ”

Jing Maocheng said: "Senior brother also wants to, but King Chuang is far away in Henan, and it is too far away." ”

The red lady said: "Senior brother wants to join the king, why go to Henan, Mizhi has the people who break the king." ”

Jing Maocheng showed a strange smile on his face, and said, "Speaking of which, junior sister, you want me to take my people to join your father-in-law." ”

Speaking of which, Jing Maocheng went away to the nine sides because of Li Yan.

At the beginning, everyone thought that Jing Maocheng and the Red Lady were a natural pair, Jing Maocheng himself thought so, he dreamed of marrying the Red Lady one day, and then took over the throne of the owner of the village from the hands of the Red Lady's father, but the reality ruthlessly shattered his dream, once the Red Lady took someone to Qixian County to rob, and met Li Yan, and then everything changed.

Later, the red lady became the owner of the village, Li Yan became her husband of the village, and he Jing Maocheng went away to the nine sides.

Although more than two years have passed, Jing Maocheng still can't forget the Red Lady, and it obviously takes courage for him to face Li Yan and the Red Lady all day long.

The red lady did not act cowardly, and generously admitted: "That's right, the little sister is doing this for her father-in-law, but it is also for you, senior brother." ”

Jing Maocheng smiled bitterly and said, "Senior sister, this matter has to be discussed with the brothers. ”

The red lady said happily: "Okay, then the little sister is waiting for you at the bottom of the mountain, if the brothers are willing, the senior brother will take them and the little sister back to the camp together, if you don't want to be the senior brother at that time, you can send someone down the mountain to say to the little sister, the little sister will never embarrass the senior brother you." ”

■■■

Datong, the royal compound.

Zhao Xin, Tang Sheng, and Monk Zhang have rushed to the Wang family's compound from Lushan Mountain, and Scarface and Bearded have also rushed back from the camp of Lei Gong Mountain.

More than 2,000 people on Lei Gong Mountain were recruited later, because with the more than 2,000 veterans on the mountain as the backing, and a lot of silver in his hand, Wang Pu seems to have become a big tyrant, and he seems to be full of confidence in doing anything, and he doesn't need to look at anyone's face anymore, and there is naturally no need to be sneaky when recruiting troops.

When the five of them were chatting energetically in the side hall, Lu Liuhong's bright voice suddenly sounded outside the door: "The general has arrived!" ”

The bearded, scarface, Zhao Xin, Tang Sheng, and Monk Zhang stood up with a brush, one by one straightened their waists, and the five pairs of eyes looked at the door in unison, and the figure outside the door flashed, and Wang Pu had already entered with dignity under the support of Zhen Youcai, Xiao Qi and Lu Liu.

"Inferior rank to general."

The five of them saluted in unison.

Wang Pu strode to the main seat, waved his hand, and said, "Sit down." ”

"General Xie."

The five of them suddenly agreed, and sat down again, Wang Pu and Zhen You sat down, but Xiao Qi and Lu Liu stood behind Wang Pu, like two door gods standing around.

Wang Pu's gaze fell on the bearded man and Scarface, and asked, "How is the newly recruited family member training?" ”

The bearded man got up and responded: "General, it looks like that, but these rabbit cubs have never been on the battlefield, and if they really go to the battlefield one day, they will inevitably have diarrhea." ”

Wang Pu thought for a while and said: "There is not much time left, let them continue to train in actual combat, so that the more than 2,000 veterans on the mountain will immediately pull back to the camp of Lei Gongshan and mix with more than 2,000 recruits, half recruits and half veterans in each hundred-person team, and each veteran will bring a new soldier, so that the combat effectiveness will improve relatively quickly." ”

"Yes!"

Zhao Xin, Tang Sheng and others brushed the ground and got up, and agreed with a bang.

Wang Pu's sentence of "continue to train in actual combat" made them excited, and it seemed that they were going to fight again! You must know that it is not only the five thousand of them who are looking forward to the war, the veterans who have been hiding on the mountain for nearly two months have long been looking forward to going to the battlefield again, and even the newly recruited recruits on Lei Gong Mountain are also looking forward to going to the battlefield as soon as possible.

Wang Pu's heavy reward system has begun to show its power.

This set of heavy reward system has a characteristic, usually the salary is very small, basically similar to the border army, only the victory will be issued a generous reward of silver, for the soldiers who died in battle, whether they won the battle or lost the battle, they are given the same specification of pension.

If it is a fallen soldier who has made a significant contribution or performed particularly bravely, the amount of the pension is even higher enough to make people crazy, such as the fifty brothers who died in Liaodong with the beard, and the pension is as high as 2,000 silver stripes per person. What is the concept of 2,000 taels of silver? According to the price at that time, it was enough to buy more than 100 acres of land and become a small landlord!

Therefore, the soldiers in other armies only want to get by and get by, but Wang Pu's soldiers all want to fight, only if they win the battle, they can have a rich reward and make a fortune, even if they unfortunately die in battle, there is also a generous pension, at least they can let their families live a good life without worrying about food and clothing.

Wang Pu waved his hand, motioned for everyone to sit down, and then said: "The last incident has passed, and everyone will no longer need to sneak around in the future, but in order to prevent these over-energetic guys from causing trouble outside, the daily training subjects must be added in the future, and they will march twenty miles long and fast in full gear!" ”

"Huh?" The bearded man said in a speech, "Running twenty miles a day? ”

"How?" Wang Pu asked rhetorically, "Do you think it's less?" ”

"No, no." The bearded man quickly shook his head, "A lot, a lot." ”

"Then it's settled." After Wang Pu finished speaking, he added, "You five thousand can't be specialized, you have to run the same, and you must take the lead." ”

"Huh?"

"This?"

Zhao Xin, Tang Sheng, Monk Zhang, Bearded, and Scarface looked at each other, but none of them dared to raise objections, since the general said so, what else is there to argue? It's just a motherfucker, but when I think of running twenty miles a day, all my faces show painful expressions.

■■■

Rice fat, Li Yan line account.

Li Hu is reporting the military situation to Li Yan in the tent, Li Hu is Li Yan's brother, Li Yan is a thin and weak white-faced scholar, but Li Hu is as his name, he looks rough and fierce, and he learned a kung fu from Shaolin Temple, he is a rare warrior, Li Hu has always been loyal to Li Yan, and Li Yan also regards Li Hu as a confidant.

Li Hu was talking about Ma Shouying and their division of the strong men.

"Big brother, it's too much for the old man to go back to the five of them, all the strong men have been incorporated into their fifth battalion, but some old, weak, sick and disabled people have been thrown to us, isn't this obviously pulling the mountain? Do they still have a big brother in their eyes? Before the troops were dispatched, King Chuang had already made it clear, eldest brother, you are the main general, and the five of them are just deputy generals, eldest brother, you can't be soft. ”

"Second brother, the eldest brother knows what you said." Li Yan said in a heavy tone, "Ma Shouying should not do this, but after all, they are the old men of the rebel army, if they are killed like this, it will be difficult for King Chuang to explain, and they will not be able to explain in front of the brothers of the rebel army, and more importantly, we can only let the Ming officials and soldiers take advantage of each other in vain, and we must not do this kind of thing that relatives and enemies are happy." ”

"But the eldest brother ......," Li Hu said hurriedly, "if you don't take care of them well, they will ride on your head." ”

"Forgive them for not daring to do so." Li Yan's elegant face suddenly flashed a faint trace of evil, and he said in a low voice, "Second brother, this matter is over today, don't tell others about it when you go back, in short, the eldest brother knows this matter in his heart, and the eldest brother knows what to do." ”

"Yes." Li Hu replied respectfully, "If the eldest brother doesn't have any orders, the younger brother will leave first." ”

"Go ahead." Li Yan said, and couldn't help but admonish again, "Don't forget to restrain the brothers, don't start a conflict with the people of the Fifth Battalion of the Revolutionary Left." ”

"Hey."

Li Hu answered and turned around.

Not long after Li Hu left, the hot figure of the red lady flashed into the tent, and said to Li Yanxi: "Xianggong, where do you guess where the slave family went today, and who did you meet?" ”

"Tell me more." Li Yan pursed his lips and said angrily, "I haven't seen anyone all day." ”

Although what Li Yan said was a complaint, the red lady heard a strong sense of concern from his tone, and Fang's heart suddenly seemed to be filled with honey, and it was not sweet and greasy, so she crashed into Li Yan's arms, twisted her small waist and said coquettishly: "Xianggong, didn't the slave family see that you are tired and want to hunt a few pheasants for you to stew chicken soup to drink?" ”

After all, Li Yan is a Confucian student, although he and the Red Lady are already husband and wife, but he still can't bear the Red Lady's hot flirtation, so he coughed twice and turned his head, and reminded seriously: "Lady, this is the camp of the righteous army, don't let the brothers see the joke." ”

"Whoever loves to joke will laugh." The red lady said unhappily, "Who is in the way of husband and wife?" ”

Although the red lady said this, she still left Li Yan's arms, but a red and glamorous little mouth was already pouting, and she could almost hang half a catty of oil.

"Ahem." Li Yan coughed dryly and asked, "Lady, who did you just say you met?" ”

The red lady twisted her waist and said, "Don't say." ”

Li Yan frowned and said, "Lady, don't make trouble." ”

The red lady said aggrievedly: "The slave family met Senior Brother Jing. ”

"Senior Brother Jing?" Li Yan was stunned, "You mean Jing Maocheng?" ”

"Hmm." The red lady nodded and said, "After Senior Brother Jing left Henan, he came to Jiubian to join the army, but he was persecuted and went to the nearby Lao Ya Mountain to fall into the grass, and in more than two years, he has recruited more than 500 brothers, and now the slave family has brought them all, and they want to defect to the righteous army." ”

"Really?" Li Yan was overjoyed when he heard this, "This is really good, since Senior Brother Jing has been the king of the mountain in Lao Ya Mountain for more than two years, then he must know many friends on the road, and he should have a more comprehensive understanding of the situation in Shaanxi and Shanxi, which can help us think of a way to see where we can get the food that the rebels urgently need." ”

Although Li Yan is a weak scholar, he has a magnificent atmosphere from his bones, he knows everything about Jing Maocheng and the Red Lady, but he doesn't have any opinion about Jing Maocheng because of this matter, let alone because the Red Lady persuaded Jing Maocheng to join the army, and he will not have a misunderstanding about the Red Lady.

"Well, Senior Brother Jing must know where to get food."

The red lady nodded happily, since the two got married, as long as Li Yan is happy, she will be happy, and seeing Li Yan so happy today, the red lady has been happy from her face to the heart.

"Quick." Li Yan hurriedly said, "Lady, take me to meet Senior Brother Jing." ”

When the Red Lady took Li Yan to the outside of the gate, Jing Maocheng and his more than 500 bandits were waiting quietly.

Li Yan would personally greet him out of the gate, which surprised Jing Maocheng, originally he thought that he would make Li Yan feel unhappy because of his arrival, and he was even mentally prepared to be unpopular, but the result was the opposite, Li Yan showed great welcome to his arrival.

This incident gave Jing Maocheng a new understanding of Li Yan, it seems that Li Yan not only has a little white face that pleases women, this person should still have some ability, otherwise Li Zicheng, the king of Chuang, would not have sent him to Shaanxi to stand alone.

At that moment, the two exchanged salutes, and Li Yan honored Jing Maocheng as a senior brother, welcomed him into the big tent, and asked Li Hu to properly settle the more than 500 brothers under Jing Maocheng.

……

(To be continued)