The trenches stretched out like a noose, lassing Meizhou City, tightening more and more. First to the west, then to the north, then to the south, and then to the east, the line is about to close and complete the encirclement.

The artillery at the head of the city sounded silently, and the trench that enclosed the city had a reasonable angle of inclination, and it was almost impossible for a solid projectile to kill the people in the trench.

The righteous people who dug the trench had adapted to such harassment, and the Ming soldiers were in charge of guarding and watching. If a cannonball is fired, a whistle sounds, and the righteous people will squat down and bow their heads, and perhaps some of the more unlucky ones will be lifted up with dirt, but most of them can't even touch their hairs.

Xiaoqi Tang Ji led his soldiers to patrol the trenches, and did not pay attention to the city's artillery at all. Unless it is a group of artillery shelling, it is almost impossible to accurately hit the target with such a single artillery bombardment. After several battles, Tang Ji was already experienced and became an officer.

"I heard that being a soldier in Sichuan not only gives you a salary, but also gives your wife!" A soldier took off his shoes and poured the dirt inside, with a look of envy, "Sir, do you know about this?" ”

Tang Ji is still a little uncomfortable, this soldier is his fellow countryman, he used to be called a Tang brother, but now the name has been changed, and his attitude is different.

"Well, it doesn't seem that simple, right?" Tang Ji shook his head and said, "Actually, if you think about it, if you are a soldier for a year or two, even if you have a military salary and a meritorious reward, it is enough to marry a wife." It's ten acres of land a year, and if you plant it well—"

"Hehe, sir, you're enough, we don't have a reward!"

"Sir, I got it so hard, and it's useless to be red-eyed."

"When you fight, don't you fight hard?" Tang Ji suddenly became serious, "The slogans shouted during the drill are all blind? If you are afraid of death. Chop off your legs before going into battle, don't drag others down on the battlefield ×. ”

Several soldiers were stunned for a moment, unprepared for Tang Ji's sudden change of face.

"Greedy for life and afraid of death, fleeing from the battle, how to deal with military regulations, you all remember?" Tang Ji's face became even more gloomy. "To be a soldier is to fight, and you must not be afraid of death. If you are afraid of death, get out quickly, so as not to harm others and yourself. When they joined the army, they were all shy and held their heads high, and they spoke better than they sang, but they only thought about mixing military salaries and fields? ”

"Sir, you see what you said, the brethren are not like that." A soldier explained with a smiling face: "We are not new soldiers, and we have fought this battle once or twice." No one pretended to be cowardly, right? The military regulations, the big guys remember it, and if they make a big mistake, not only themselves, but even their families will suffer! ”

Flee from the battle, investigate his crime with military law, and be beheaded! The families of sinners shall be stripped of all preferential treatment of military dependents, and the taxes exempted from preferential treatment shall be doubled; Family members are included in the offence for five years. No one shall leave his place of residence without permission; Family members are not allowed to be officials or officials for ten years......

The treatment of those who serve in the army is becoming more and more generous. Social status is also rising, but the penalties are also quite severe. Although the crime is not explicitly said to be a lowly status, it is also very different from the lowly status, but once it is classified, it is indeed a great blow. Not to mention the status and economic punishment, the gap and change of status and status. It's a kind of mental torture.

Zhu Yongxing did not agree with the basic traditional system of the army since ancient times, which was the basic traditional system of the army that "served as a soldier to eat food and received a salary to support his family." Yes, he has been trying his best to reverse the social status of soldiers who are discriminated against, and he has been trying his best to be better treated. But there is a premise. That's a soldier who doesn't need to be just a mixed meal. In other words, a soldier has the responsibility of a soldier, and he who fulfills his responsibilities is a good soldier and can accept the treatment given by the government without deserved. And those who fail to fulfill their responsibilities and cannot complete their own work will either get out of the way with self-knowledge, or pay the price for their actions.

Therefore, after Zhu Yongxing left Burma and entered Yunnan, the Ming army basically recruited troops, rather than forcibly conscripted. Even in the initial financial difficulties, Zhu Yongxing also used land to make up for it, and formulated a series of aftermath compensation measures. The name code price can also be understood in this way. If you come to be a soldier, well, since you are voluntary, then you must know that being a soldier is to fight, and there will be dead and wounded in the war, and those who can bear it sign to enlist in the army; If you hesitate, go back and think about it.

"When a soldier is not afraid of death, he is not afraid of death." This sentence is the slogan that the Ming army usually shouts the most, and this kind of regular indoctrination is to make the soldiers understand that since they voluntarily choose this profession, they must fulfill their duties and make sacrifices.

Military law is like a mountain, and military discipline is strict, and when he was in Yunnan Province, Zhu Yongxing repeatedly proved it with facts, and maintained it with bloody deterrence methods, forming a habit. By now, this set of practices has been quite perfect, and it has penetrated into the bones of every veteran. In Yunnan Province, most of the veterans who fought with Zhu Yongxing, except for those who were martyred and retired, are already the backbone of the army, and some have even been promoted to middle-level officers. They also transmitted this concept to their subordinates, and constantly maintained it under the supervision of the regulations of military law and military discipline.

This is the professionalism that a professional army should have, and it is the strict discipline that a king should have. Zhu Yongxing knew that this was just the beginning, and it did not meet his expectations at all. But he has taken a welcome step, and it is enough to make him happy.

Speaking of punishment and family, Tang Ji knew that these soldiers were still sober, and he felt very proud that he could repeat almost all the words of the missionary.

"Alright, alright, everyone understands." Tang Ji listened to the horn sideways, and it was indeed time to eat, so he waved his hand and said, "You go back to the camp to eat, bring my share after eating, I'll wait here." ”

"That's not cool." One of the soldiers was quite aware of the problem, and hurriedly said, "In this case, I will bring two meals and eat them with the commander." ”

"It's okay, then it's hard for you." Tang Ji is not a scheming person, and this feeling of sycophancy is also very useful.

The soldiers turned and walked away, Tang Ji found a suitable place, sat down and waited, and looked at Meizhou City from time to time. For the siege, Tang Ji participated in the battles in Xinhui and Guangzhou, and compared with these two cities, Meizhou City is not particularly strong. Therefore, Tang Ji felt that there was no difficulty in capturing Meizhou. It's just that he wondered in his heart, why did this Qing army stay in the city and wait to be taken away? Is there no other way to play?

Just as he was thinking about it, there was a bang on the city, white smoke rose, and a cannonball flew over. It's not an explosion of character, it's not that he has outstanding marksmanship, or he's blind, and the cannonballs seem to be smashing at Tang Ji.

Ah, not good. Tang Ji was excited, suddenly pounced forward, and crawled into the trench with a rolling belt, and suddenly knocked down the person who was digging in Gou Chen, and was pressing under him. (To be continued......)