On March 12 of the third year of Chongzhen, the flag outside the city of Tongzhou was flying, covered with soldiers and horses from all over the country, full of accents from the south and the north.

After the canal froze, the grain and salary of King Qin's sent by officials from all over the country began to arrive in a steady stream, and the troops of King Qinwang had been in arrears for a long time, including the soldiers and horses of Ma Shilong, the prime minister's chief military officer, in Jizhou and the army of Guanning. Ma Shilong and Sun Chengzong have both gone to the court many times in the hope of making up for a part of it to reassure the army.

The station of the Wendeng camp is on the east side of the canal, the Chinese army hangs up the guerrilla red flag of Chen Xin, the camp is still with javelins to put horizontal logs, next to them are Henan soldiers and a Shandong soldier, because Jizhou and Yutian have not been lost, so Tongzhou here is already a safe area, and the camps of the various armies are not strong.

After the withdrawal of the Houjin part, the remaining soldiers and horses still have a great deterrent power, not only are they not afraid of the Ming army, but they also want to go to Yutian to rob, but as soon as Huang Taiji leaves, these Jiannu are even more lawless.

Before Chen Xin left Beijing, he also took the head reward and the emperor's reward of 2,000 taels of silver, plus the silver taels seized in Gu'an, there were already more than 40,000, Liang Tingdong and Zhou Yanru each spent 3,000 taels, Wen Tiren sent it this year, and this time he also said 3,000 taels, plus Qian Yuanhug and some new officials of the Ministry of War, a total of 15,000 taels were spent, fortunately there was no loss, the court did not have cash, Chen Xin did not expect to make money from the imperial court, these silver were spent, he hoped to get a reinforcement camp, there were 3,000 soldiers, plus some special policies, Make Wenden a semi-independent kingdom and earn it back from these.

Sitting opposite Chen Xin were Zhu Daichun and Dong Yu, who were talking about the newly recruited Shanxi Town cavalry, Zhu Daichun said to Chen Xin: "My lord, the fifty-three cavalrymen recruited from the Shanxi Town Defeat have been here for a few days, and Zhu Qian has come to ask a few times, and wants to put people directly into his cavalry battalion. ”

Chen Xin shook his head and said: "No, these are all defeated soldiers, as long as the soldier has run once, then the mind is different, you must complete the basic training and know the discipline." Zhu Guobin has a total of more than 90 people, and there are more than 50 people here, how can he manage it, and he will not bring the original people into chaos, but the training team will still manage them, let them memorize the military discipline first, and if there is a war, you will personally take them to walk with the Chinese army. ”

This group of cavalry are veterans of the border army, most of them do not accept overnight, the riding skills are very good, but the habit of soldier oil is also heavy, a few people will make trouble as soon as they arrive at the barracks, and ask for the money of the family, and they were cut by Zhou Shifa, so they are honest, fortunately, these people have not been in the army for a long time, and they have not grabbed anything, and the fun of robbery has not been tasted, and it belongs to the list that can be transformed. Wendeng Camp has a good reputation and treatment, most of these people are singles, and after this rout, they are also worried about going back and being punished, and they slowly settle down after coming for a while.

Dong Yu asked: "My lord, is their monthly money paid according to the regular soldier or the new soldier?" ”

Chen Xin thought for a while, these people are veterans, Zhu Guobin has most of the experience of not collecting at night after the assessment, this is the one he lacks the most at present, the salary can be a little higher, and he said: "According to the infantry veterans, but it can't be the same as the cavalry who don't collect at night, after going back this time, they must make up for the basic training of recruits, and only those who are qualified can be treated according to the sentry cavalry." ”

Zhu Daichun continued to ask: "The recruitment that the adults said yesterday, Tongzhou is afraid that it is not easy to recruit, the slender men in Zhangjiawan have all fled, and it is said that most of them went to Tianjin, I plan to send five people to Tianjin first, that is, the grain and ships must be arranged by the adults." ”

Chen Xin looked at Dong Yu, and Dong Yu hurriedly replied: "I don't know how many soldiers will be recruited this time?" ”

"A thousand, all of them must be slender men." Chen Xin said simply, he told Chongzhen that Wendeng was thin and sparsely populated, and this time he died a few hundred, and wanted to recruit three hundred homeless people from Beizhili to go back, Chongzhen naturally would not embarrass the small request of this Qinwang hero, and asked the Ministry of War to give him a document, allowing him to recruit three hundred soldiers in Beizhili, and let officials from all over the country assist, Chen Xin decided to recruit a thousand people when he got this tiger skin, and now Jiannu has not left, who has nothing to do to find out how many soldiers he has recruited, he has always been very optimistic about the source of soldiers, taking advantage of this chaos, he will recruit more.

Chen Xin calculated the balance, Laiyang Zhaoyuan has more than 20,000 taels, and now there is a balance of more than 20,000 yuan for the first-level merit and the emperor's reward, plus Wen Tiren and Liang Tingdong have promised to help him implement part of the military salary, at least this year should be able to support. And now the army eats the imperial court military rations, and even the food expenses are saved.

Dong Yu made a rough calculation and said: "A few years ago, there were still hundreds of stone grain in Tianjin, if there were not many family members, it could be for a while, this year Beizhili will definitely not be harvested, and the price of grain will have to rise, and it will have to be transported back to Wendeng as soon as possible." After the beginning of spring, Wang Yuanzheng's grain was mostly bought by sea boats, which was cheaper than Tianjin. ”

Chen Xin knew about Wang Yuanzheng's grain, and he was in charge of Weihai's transportation affairs, so the entrainment he bought from the sea ship was naturally cheaper.

Chen Xin nodded and said: "I heard that Wang Ting tried to come to Beijing, he sent someone here yesterday, and he estimated that he should arrive the day after tomorrow, so I told him to use the water master of Dengzhou again, and help transport the people back then." ”

Zhu Daichun's two things were done, so he stood up and saluted, and then withdrew.

Dong Yu waited for him to go out, and then said softly: "My lord, if it is convenient this time, can you also compete for the sailor, if the emperor can give a sailor battalion number and set the rights and responsibilities of patrolling the sea, then the grain and goods of the Jiangnan Cao ship have to be left behind." ”

Chen Xin smiled dumbly, this Dong Yu's mind is very flexible, Chen Xin actually thought about this for a long time, it turned out that Wang Yuanzheng and Yang Yunnong shared the benefits of sea transportation, and now he also wants to take a bite, at least the sailor usually has some income, and he doesn't have to make money every year only by sea trade like now.

Chen Xin said approvingly: "Dong Yu, you have thought a lot for my Wendeng Camp, and you have done a good job, I have written down this matter." ”

Dong Yu agreed, and reported the situation of grain and grass, and now some grain is transported from the south, and Tongzhou is close to the Grand Canal, at least there is no shortage of food. As he was talking, the sea dog suddenly reported loudly outside: "My lord, Brother Liu is here, and Zhou Hongmo is also here, but they are all blocked at the door of the barracks." ”

Chen Xin stood up and said, "I'll pick it up right away, let Mr. Song come too, and don't call the name of the garrison in the future." After Chen Xin finished speaking, he suddenly remembered that he was already a guerrilla, and this week Hongmo was the garrison of the Wendeng battalion, although he must also be promoted, but before the official body came down, he could be regarded as his leader, but according to the grade, Zhou Hongmo was higher than him, and he didn't know whether to treat Zhou Hongmo as a subordinate or a leader.

Chen Xin did not delay, hurried to the camp gate, that Zhou Hongmo at the door to Liu Minyou with a flattering face, was talking about something, Liu Minyou was a little absent-minded to deal with, said that this week Hongmo is also pitiful, he is the head of the Wendeng camp, and was stopped at the door, he came out to run the official, who still has a waist card.

When he saw Chen Xin at a glance, he didn't care about his physique, he ran over and was about to kneel, while saying, "Lord Chen is fine, but the lower officials are worried about death." ”

Chen Xin hurriedly helped him, and said in his mouth: "What is Lord Zhou doing, I can't help it, the subordinate is still the commander of the guard, which is much lower than the grade of Lord Zhou, and the subordinate has always been taken care of by Lord Zhou, and he is lucky to get some small work, even if he is really promoted, he will never take a stand in front of adults." ”

Liu Minyou looked at Zhou Hongmo coldly on the side, he was actually a little excited to see Chen Xin, this friend was at war with the notorious Jiannu, and now he saw that he was still alive, and finally put his mind at ease, but Zhou Hongmo, who looked at him as a villain, really felt disgusted.

Chen Xin exchanged a few words with Zhou Hongmo, and came over to Liu Minyou and whispered: "I'll talk to Zhou Hongmo, you go to eat with the sea dog first." ”

Liu Minyou scolded: "Don't you ask how Zhao Xiang and Mrs. Zhao are?" Jing was busy patting Shangguan's ass. ”

Chen Xin flattered: "They are all as long as Brother Liu, they will be fine, according to that priority matrix, emergency first and then important." After speaking, he hurriedly accompanied Zhou Hongmo to the Chinese army, and Song Wenxian behind him bowed to Liu Min with a smile and chased after him.

Zhou Hongmo had to ask Chen Xin to go to the front along the way, he heard that Wendeng Camp made meritorious service in Dengzhou, he was anxious like an ant on a hot pot, he wanted to come to Beijing to run for officials, and implement the reward, but he heard that Jiannu was still there, and he wanted to be promoted and was afraid of death, and finally heard that Jiannu went to Yongping, and quickly ran to Jingshi, although he stayed in Laiyang and Zhaoyuan tortured a lot of gold, but still can't compare with Chen Xin's large sums of money, and he can't get much silver, because of Wendeng Camp, the officers of the military department are polite to him, he found some old relationships, and is ready to ask for credit for him, It can be regarded as a ride on Chen Xin, but he himself has not made meritorious contributions, and the amount of promotion depends on the amount of silver, he obviously can't compare with Yang Guodong, Yang Guodong has more money and will come to things, not only did he ask for the price again and again, but also asked a group of gentry from Tongzhou to jointly sign a letter to help him beat the side drum, not only wanting the number of soldiers, but also food.

With Zhou Hongmo's investigation in Beijing, Chen Xin was definitely promoted this time, so he ran to see the situation, and by the way, to see if Chen Xin had a way out.

Chen Xin left Song Wenxian outside and took Zhou Hongmo into the camp tent, after the two sat down, Zhou Hongmo was flattering again, he was also a rough man, he couldn't make too many bends, he licked his mouth and asked: "Lord Chen, I don't know how many soldiers there are in this Jiannu, we have so many camps in Tongzhou, when will the Jiannu be cleaned up." ”

How could Chen Xin give his military merits to Zhou Hongmo, and deliberately said with a sad face: "Lord Zhou, don't tell you, there are many soldiers in the king at the moment, but they are all passing the buck to each other, the big ones are Jizhou and Shanhaiguan, Ma Zongbing let Zu Dashou go to Santun camp, Zu Dashou asked Ma Zongbing to go to Yongping, they are afraid of walking away from the city, and make it clear who arrives first will be the first to be stabbed by Jiannu, the two general soldiers are human spirits, so they have been pulling the skin, and there is no law until now, and Lord Sun also can't put the two, and the military department is also watching, Now even the thirty-six families in Karaqin dare to go to Jizhou to extort money and grain. ”

Zhou Hongmo opened his mouth for a moment before saying, "Didn't Jiannu leave a little?" I have a large army, and I am still afraid that he will have a partial division? ”

"Jiannu went out of the customs in February, but there came one after another, all of them heard that they broke through the customs and robbed things, and spontaneously came to loot Jiannu, I don't know how many soldiers there are, I estimate that seven or eight thousand should be, and the thirty-six families in Karaqin are also robbed by fire, and they went to Jizhou to say that they were helping to fight Jiannu, so that Ma Shilong would pay the silver and come out."

Zhou Hongmo slapped his palm on the table and said angrily: "What do these barbarians do with my Daming, it's more convenient than going to a backyard." ”

Chen Xin stood up and persuaded: "Don't be angry, this Jiannu is not so easy to fight now, once the whole division is gone, many adults will have to be arrested and imprisoned, and it is estimated that at the moment, all the adults dare not attack rashly." Jiannu was sandwiched in the middle, but went out to loot, Jizhou has fought a few times, thanks to Cao's guerrilla might, repelled Jiannu, but the lower officials stayed in Tongzhou, and they were also very frightened. Since the Ministry of War didn't force Lord Zhou to fight, you can hide if you can, brother, I still look forward to it. ”

Zhou Hongmo looked at Chen Xin's appearance, although he said it politely, he actually didn't plan to let himself earn military merits, and although he was rough and arrogant in appearance, he was originally timid, otherwise he would not have been transferred from Xuanfu to Wendeng Camp back then, and he also flinched a little when he heard this, why didn't he come with him when he was annoyed by King Qin, now that Chen Xin has been promoted, he can't hold him back if he wants to use the official to suppress him.

Chen Xin pretended to be concerned and said: "Lord Zhou is the chief officer of my Wendeng battalion, is there any reward from the military department?" ”

Zhou Hongmo sighed: "I originally wanted to be a Linqing general, but now it seems that it is still worse." ”

Chen Xin's eyes narrowed, Linqing is an important node on the Grand Canal, the prosperity of Cheng dù is more than Tianjin, just the next stop to the south of Tianjin, belongs to the middle of the Shandong section, the business here radiates the hinterland of Shandong and Henan, and now Yang Guodong is in Tongzhou, the northern section of the canal, has been involved, if Zhou Hongmo goes to Linqing to be a general, it will be of great benefit to him.

After thinking for a moment, he said to Zhou Hongmo: "Don't worry, Lord Zhou, Wendeng Camp is also a subordinate of Lord Zhou, and his military merits will not be less than that of adults, but if you work hard, you can do it." ”

Zhou Hongmo's eyes lit up, he came to Chen Xin for this sentence, as long as Chen Xin gave him a little bit of military merit, there was hope for him to be promoted to two levels.

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Liu Minyou followed the sea dog to rest in a tent of the Chinese army for a while, and the tea was changed for two bowls and Chen Xinlai was not seen.

Finally, Chen Xin came over and drove the two followers out. Chen Xin didn't wait for Liu Minyou to speak, he bowed down and saluted first: "The people are coming, you must go to Jingshi this time to see, there are still many scenic spots." Is home always good? Are my wife and mother-in-law okay? ”

Liu Minyou said angrily: "Your mother-in-law's eyes are going to cry blind, so I have to force me to persuade you to let you fight and don't rush to the front." ”

Chen Xin said with a smile: "Of course I won't rush to the front, and I'm not a master like Qi Dashuai and Yu Dayou,"

"Still not fighting? Didn't the tartars retreat? ”

"It's still in Zunhua and Yongping, and we still have to fight."

Liu Min was worried: "I heard that the dog said that he died more than 100 last time, and how many more will he die this time." ”

Chen Xindao: "If Brother Liu has nothing to do these days, you can go and see the scene around Tongzhou." North Zhili suffered a catastrophe this time. ”

Liu Min nodded and said: "I saw it all on the way, there are many bones on the roadside south of Zhangjiawan. There should be more around Kyoshi. ”

Chen Xin smiled and said, "Do you want to go to Taiwan more?" Fighting a war isn't that scary, why don't you go and see it together? ”