It is not the first time that Shen Yichen has seen the head of the beheaded person, at the time of the surrender ceremony of the southwest Luchuan, the border army presented the head of the leader of the Luchuan River, Si Renfa!

But in order to ensure that the human head was sent to Jingshi, it was treated with lime and other antiseptic materials, which was almost very different from the normal skin color.

And now this human head, obviously not long after being killed, except for the slightly pale and gray complexion, the others are basically no different from ordinary people.

It's just that Shen Yichen doesn't understand a little, why is the military intelligence emergency report a head?

However, this question was quickly answered by Zhang Chen, the political envoy.

He stared at the human head in the wooden box for a few moments, and a look of surprise appeared on his face, and then he subconsciously called out his name.

"Xiong Taishou!"

Taishou is another name for the prefect of the Ming Dynasty, and generally the upper official is called the lower official, and this title is used instead.

In the entire Fujian Political Division, there is only one prefect surnamed Xiong, and that is Xiong Shangchu, the prefect of Quanzhou.

As early as a few days ago, Xiong Shangchu broke through the siege and was defeated and captured by the peasant rebel army led by Deng Maoqi, and has not been heard from since.

As a result, he never expected that today, his head was sent to the civil and military officials of Fujian, and even the "Qin Mission" of the military affairs of the Beijing Division.

What is called slapping the face of the court, this kind of behavior is!

"Arrogant!"

Xining shouted angrily, he had served as a town guard eunuch for many years, as fierce as a Mongolian iron horseman, and he captured the officials of the Ming court, and he did not dare to abuse and kill at will.

Take 10,000 steps back and say, even if the Mongols really want to kill, they will negotiate with the Ming Dynasty before they start, and they will only start when the talks collapse.

As early as on the way into Fujian, Xining learned of the military report that Xiong Shangchu, the prefect of Quanzhou, was captured alive. He originally planned to send people to negotiate with the rebels after arriving at the Yamen of Fuzhou Mansion to see if he could redeem the people.

Now the opposite side directly kicked his nose in the face, giving himself, the newly arrived supervisor, a dismount, how could the arrogant Xining endure it?

"Deng Dusi, how many soldiers and horses are there in the Fujian Guard, how can you watch the thief army so rampant!"

Xining is really angry now, you must know that the Fujian Buzheng Secretary who was captured and killed in front of him has an official position from the fourth grade. And Xiong Shangchu, the governor of Quanzhou Prefecture, has an official position of the fourth grade.

In a short period of time after the riots in Fujian, two scarlet-robed officials were killed, and the news of the DPRK and China was bound to cause an uproar. Xining is unwilling to leave Wang Zhen with any handle to attack him, so he must give the emperor and the court an explanation!

"This ...... This ......"

In the face of Xining's inquiry, the Fujian Metropolitan Commander made Deng An hesitate to answer.

The Fujian military information he submitted only informed the Quanzhou prefect Xiong Shangchu that he had been captured, and he did not mention that he had failed to rush to help, but was ambushed by the thieves.

Now Deng An has a fighting army in his hands, and it is estimated that there are no more than 10,000.

With this amount, how dare he confess to Xining?

"Deng Dusi, have you forgotten what position our family holds?"

Seeing that Deng An didn't speak for a long time, Xining coldly warned the other party.

Although the mid-Ming Dynasty supervised the army as it did in the late period, controlling the life and death of military generals. But as long as Xining impeached the emperor, the probability of Deng An's official questioning can be said to be 100 percent.

Under this threat, civil servants such as Song Zhang, the right-hand political envoy, even if they themselves are flatterers, have to pretend to grit their teeth and hold up their integrity in front of local civil and military officials.

As a military general, Deng An had no worries about this, and immediately knelt down towards Xining to admit his mistake: "Back to the prison army, the last general is incompetent, and the available soldiers in the military camp of Fuzhou Mansion are less than 10,000 people!" ”

couldn't hide it anymore, Deng An simply told the matter with a heart.

The death of Senator Zhu Yuan and the prefect Xiong Shangchu has declared that these anti-thieves are extremely vicious. After the fall of Quanzhou, the next besieged state capital was undoubtedly Fuzhou.

Deng An felt that he couldn't control the situation, and then it was up to Xining and Shen Yichen to deal with this mess. No matter how he dismissed the official and asked for the crime, it was better than having a different head, so he didn't want to follow in the footsteps of Zhu Yuan and others.

"Less than 10,000?"

When Xining heard this, she only felt a little dizzy in front of her.

He received a military report in Hangzhou before, and he estimated the worst outcome, Fuzhou Mansion could still call on the troops of several guards, and there were still 10,000 or 20,000 people. After he and Shen Yichen took office, they integrated the troops and horses of the province in the name of admiralizing military affairs.

According to the usual practice of the Ming Dynasty to suppress the rebellion, a force of about 30,000 is enough to sweep away the rabble of the thief army.

As a result, looking at this posture now, 10,000 or 20,000 people in the military newspaper are all false!

The number of military households in the nine border guards in the north is only a seven-fold discount in the most exaggerated case. Xining still thinks that no matter how bold Fujian Dusi is, a five-percent discount is already the limit.

I really underestimated the bear-hearted leopard guts of these people, and even the three discounts contained water, no wonder the entire battlefield situation was defeated!

"Bastard thing!"

Xi Ning scolded angrily, he didn't know what to say at this time, except for anger and a trace of regret.

Knowing that the situation was like this, he should not have promised Shen Yichen that everything would be as usual, and now that everyone has arrived in Fujian, it means that he has officially started to perform his duties.

Then dispatch troops to the imperial court, not to mention what kind of responsibility they have to bear, just wait for the imperial army to come to Fujian, I don't know that it is the year of the monkey and the month of the horse. During this time, if the thief army came to besiege Fuzhou Mansion, could he, as a prison army, still abandon the city and run away?

If you really dare to do this, then the black pot of Fujian erosion will be detained on yourself, and it is hopeless to gain a firm foothold in the Forbidden City in this life!

Feeling that Xining looked at himself as if he was looking at him, Shen Yichen probably guessed that the other party regretted it.

No matter how tough and decent he pretends to be on the surface, Xining is a villain who is greedy for life and afraid of death after all, otherwise he would not have become a complete "traitor" after being captured in the Tumubao Incident.

But to be precise, Xining is a Jurchen, and she can only be regarded as a "traitor".

"Deng Dusi, where is the Fuzhou Sanwei station?"

For these local officials in Fujian, Shen Yichen didn't expect them to be reliable, and if he wanted to stabilize the situation, he had to rely on the guards.

Fuzhou Mansion is the provincial capital of Fujian Province, and there are three guards and horses stationed all year round: Fuzhou Zhongwei, Fuzhou Left Guard, and Fuzhou Right Guard. Shen Yichen planned to inspect the barracks to see the situation, as long as the morale of the soldiers was available, 10,000 people would be enough to ensure that Fuzhou Mansion was worry-free.

After all, the combat effectiveness of the heavily armed regular army in ancient times was very different from that of the peasant army that temporarily revolted. Especially when wearing heavy armor, the crude weapons in the hands of ordinary rebels may not be able to break through the defense even if they stand for half a day.

"Returning to Admiral Shen, it's five miles away."

Deng An, who fell to the ground, hurriedly turned around, looked at Shen Yichen and informed the location of the three guards in Fuzhou.

"Deng Dusi, get up first."

Shen Yichen first asked Deng An to stand up from the ground, no matter how unbearable he was in military affairs, as long as he sat in the position of the commander of the Fujian capital, his dignity must be guaranteed.

There is no other reason, as the leading general of a province, if even Deng An does not have a backbone, how can the soldiers under him be tough?

One of the fundamental reasons why the army collapsed at the end of the Ming Dynasty was that there were too many "military forces controlled by literature", resulting in military attachés and generals being inferior to dogs, and low-level sergeants were like ants.

Morale comes largely from self-confidence and dignity, which Shen Yichen is different from Xining, he will not use his means of prestige to humiliate and oppress the leading generals.

"Yes, Admiral Shen."

After getting Shen Yichen's permission, Deng An stood up from the ground and wiped the beads of sweat from his forehead in fear.

"Father-in-law, since the situation in Fujian is urgent, the subordinate has the responsibility of supervising military affairs. I didn't go into the city to repair, but first went to the station of Fuzhou Sanwei to inspect it. ”

"Admiral Shen is loyal to his duties, then it will be a lot of trouble."

Shen Yichen was willing to clean up the mess now, and Xining naturally couldn't ask for it.

But having said that, it is Shen Yichen's duty to rectify military affairs, and the supervising army is not responsible for specific military affairs, but only to supervise and balance the local military and government.

"Deng Dusi, please send someone to lead the way."

"Yes."

Deng An nodded, turned to a military general of the Command Envoy Division and said, "Feng Yanshi, come out!" ”

I saw a fully armored military general stand up from the team and arch his hand: "The last general!" ”

"You immediately lead Admiral Shen to inspect the barracks, there must be no mistake!"

"The last general obeys!"

After the military general received the order loudly, he came to Shen Yichen and arched his hand: "The last general, Fuzhou Zhongwei, commanded Feng Zheng, and I have seen Admiral Shen!" ”

The local armies of the Ming Dynasty generally had two sets of command systems, namely the capital command envoy and the guard command envoy.

The names of the two official positions are basically the same, but the difference is that the Wei Commander and the Envoy are one level lower, for example, both command the affairs for the three grades, and the Wei Commander for the four grades.

However, under normal circumstances, the commander of the envoy department is more like a higher-level department, and the commander of the guard directly leads the soldiers. Deng An sent Feng Zhenglai to lead Shen Yichen to inspect the military camp, obviously intending to confess completely and let this admiral have a more real understanding of the current situation.

After all, if Shen Yichen could save the situation and quell the rebellion, Deng An's guilt would be much lessened. If you find a way to get rid of the connections of the Beijing Division, you may be able to keep the black yarn hat.

"There is something to do with Lao Feng, lead the way."

"Yes."

Compared with Deng An's slippery and weak, Feng Zheng showed the momentum of a professional soldier in the Ming Dynasty, turned around and rode a war horse, and was ready to lead Shen Yichen to the military camp to inspect.

Since he is in charge of military affairs with civilian officials, Shen Yichen naturally has to show his "tough and iron-blooded" side. He didn't take the carriage either, but asked Wu Rui to move over a tall horse and lead his guards to follow behind Feng Zheng.

Watching the group gallop away, Zhang Chen, the political envoy of Fujian, said to Xining in a tentative tone: "Father-in-law Xi, why don't you still be in the advanced city?" ”

"Hmm."

This time, Xining didn't say much, nodded and strode towards the Fuzhou Mansion.

The anger was also vented, and Liwei also stood up, and he traveled continuously day and night for half a month, which had already made him feel back pain, and he planned to relieve it.

The situation is the situation, and when it comes to personal enjoyment, Xining has never treated himself lightly.

Five miles of road for horseback riding, only ten minutes to arrive, Shen Yichen followed Feng Zheng to a valley flatland, as far as the eye could see was an endless tent camp, the soldiers guarding the gate held weapons, leaning loosely on the fence, not a trace of brave spirit.

Shen Yichen has come all the way to the imperial examination, although he belongs to the standard Qing noble civil official, he has come into contact with many Ming soldiers.

In front of the triumphant return of the Southern Expeditionary Army, there was the Beijing camp under the command of Li Da and others, and then there were the Dongchangwei and Tai'anwei controlled by the Shandong Buzheng Division.

Whether it is the border army, or the Beijing camp, or the local guard. At least Shen Yichen saw in them the discipline and bravery of being a professional soldier.

But the group of soldiers guarding the door in front of him, if they took off their military robes, absolutely no one would have thought that they were the sergeants of the guard.

"Feng Yanshi, Fuzhou Sanwei is the absolute main force of the Fujian Metropolitan Division, is this the appearance of the army?"

Shen Yichen asked with some dissatisfaction.

The virtue of the local thousand households is just that, after all, many military households are half peasants and half soldiers. The Fuzhou Sanwei is an elite army, which should theoretically be strong and well-equipped, and now it is too lax.

"Back to the Admiral, the three guards of Fuzhou were negligent in training, and recently they were defeated by the thief army one after another. Now the morale of the entire military camp is low, and the people are panicking, which is a dereliction of duty by the last general! ”

Feng Zheng explained part of the reason, and part of it he didn't dare to say more.

That is the Fujian Metropolitan Command Department is seriously greedy for ink, and arrears of military salaries for the sergeants of the guard are commonplace. In the past year, there have been continuous uprisings in various places, which has made the soldiers of the three guards of Fuzhou physically and mentally exhausted.

There is no money for selling your life in a bloody battle, so it's no wonder that you can have morale!

Feng Zheng said that he was derelict in his duties, but Shen Yichen couldn't blame him, the reason was that a fourth-grade guard commander was not qualified to take the blame, so what was the use of blaming him?

"And why did the garrison choose to be in Shandong, in case the thief army came to block the exit, wouldn't it be a turtle in the urn?"

Shen Yichen felt that there was also a big problem with the location of this station, but if the rebel army was bold enough to make a surprise attack, Fuzhou Sanwei would be handed over here, and the entire Fuzhou Mansion and even the Fujian Political Division would become an empty city!

"Back to the Admiral, it is not easy to find vacant land in Fujian's mountainous areas, and this is the closest station to Fuzhou Prefecture."

"In addition, Fuzhou is a provincial capital, and the heads of the feudal and capital divisions gather here, so they must be well guarded nearby."

The latter sentence is actually Feng Zheng's euphemism for saying the real reason for stationing in the valley, that is, it is close to Fuzhou Mansion, and it can be reinforced as soon as possible in case of attack.

As for whether the Fuzhou Sanwei garrison itself will be attacked, it is not within the consideration of Fujian's high-ranking civil and military officials.

"Corpse Meal Vegetarian Position!"

Shen Yichen couldn't help but curse angrily, I've seen stupid people, I've never seen a nest so stupid.

But then again, if the civil and military officials of the Fujian Political Department are more powerful, there will be no southeast uprising. Or take a step back, with the strength of the Fujian Political Division, the uprising will soon be nip in the bud, and how can it evolve into today's situation.

"Let's go in first."

After scolding, Shen Yichen calmed down his emotions, it was useless to scold again, so he could only find a way to make amends.

The group walked in front of the barracks, leaning lazily against the gatekeeper on the fence, only to realize that someone was coming.

When they found out that it was Feng Zhenghou, they quickly knelt down on one knee and said, "Little one to meet Feng Zheng." ”

"Get up."

Feng Zheng waved his hand and motioned for the guards to get up first.

"Feng Yan is here, and the little one will go and inform the commander."

After that, a guard soldier was about to go to make a report, but at this moment Shen Yichen stopped him.

"No need, I'll just go in and meet the commander myself."

When the soldiers guarding the gate heard Shen Yichen's obstruction, they looked him up and down a few times, and found that it was a civilian official in a green robe.

So he couldn't make up his mind, and looked at Feng Zheng, waiting for his instructions.

"You continue to keep watch here, and Ben himself will go in."

"The little one obeys."

As soon as Feng Zheng's voice fell, Shen Yichen walked straight into the barracks.

After entering the Sanwei station in Fuzhou, it may be that the air in the valley area is not very circulated, coupled with the extremely poor sanitary conditions, Shen Yichen immediately smelled a stench.

You must know that the denser the population, the more you need to pay attention to cleanliness, otherwise the plague is very easy to break out with the medical conditions in ancient times. When Shen Yichen built a porridge shed in Shandong to resettle the victims, he first built toilets and sewage ditches to avoid the occurrence of the epidemic.

Now it is about to enter March, which means that the warm spring is coming, regardless of the discipline of the Fuzhou Sanwei Army, at least this environment Shen Yichen cannot tolerate.

Walking all the way to the depths, Shen Yichen saw the soldiers of the three guards of Fuzhou, sitting on the ground and chatting, or staring at him with blank eyes, and from time to time he could hear the painful wails from the tent.

When he left the town, Shen Yichen did not wear the royal bullfighting uniform, let alone pretended to be a scarlet robe official as a Hanlin official. Dressed in a five-grade Zuo Chunfang University scholar's robe, it is not too conspicuous for the soldiers of the guard, and it is better to follow Feng Zheng behind Shen Yichen.

At least the latter, from time to time a soldier recognized and saluted.

However, this also allowed Shen Yichen to see the most real scene in the barracks, at this moment, the vast majority of the soldiers of Fuzhou Sanwei were in a state of depression, depression, and numbness.

There are not only factors in successive defeats, but also in the confusion of the army, many people do not know why they are fighting, and even many of them have a "rebellious" heart.

The more he walked inside, the more shocking the situation was displayed, and Shen Yichen even saw many seriously wounded and dying soldiers lying in some tents. Their eyes could no longer be described as numb, but had lost all their luster, waiting for death to come.

"Feng Yanshi, what's going on!"

It is understandable that a large number of wounded soldiers during the war did not receive medical treatment. Now in the barracks, there are still so many soldiers waiting to die like "waste", and Shen Yichen only thought of the idiom "things hurt their kind".

In this situation, when the rebel army is attacking next, can you still expect the soldiers of the three guards of Fuzhou to sell their lives?

"Quanzhou Mansion was besieged by the thief army, and Fuzhou Sanwei rushed to help many times, with heavy casualties, leaving a large number of wounded."

"I'm not asking you how the wounded soldier came, but why you didn't get medical treatment!"

At this moment, Shen Yichen finally couldn't suppress the anger in his heart, and scolded Feng Zheng, and at the same time, his abruptly raised tone also attracted the attention of many soldiers in the camp.

Why could a low-ranking civil official in a green robe reprimand Wei Commander like this, and looking at this posture, it seems that he is still helping the brothers speak?