Nanjing City, the internal martial arts field.

This martial arts arena was once the place where Zhu Yuanzhang, the Taizu of the Ming Dynasty, worshiped Xu Da as a general and ordered him to lead his troops to the north.

Who would have thought that three hundred years later, it would be such a scene, which is embarrassing.

The banner was hunting under the warm breeze of early spring, and about 30,000 people were standing lazily in the martial arts arena.

These people are the main force of the current city defense army.

On the northernmost side of the martial arts arena, there stood a point platform less than two zhang high, and Zhu Cihong was standing on it, frowning tightly.

The city defense army, which claims to be in the amount of 200,000, seems to have eaten a lot of empty salaries.

But this makes sense, why Zhao Zhilong has this "200,000" army, but he doesn't dare to do anything to Huang Degong, who only has 20,000 soldiers and horses.

Huang Degong's men and horses are really only 20,000, and all of them are elites, if they really want to tear their faces and fight, they are not afraid of the tens of thousands of crooked melons and cracked dates under Zhao Zhilong.

Therefore, it should be Zhao Zhilong who is more afraid of Huang Degong now.

"Your Majesty, the minister has gathered 30,000 elite city defense troops, and most of the rest are patrolling and practicing in various parts of the four cities."

Zhao Zhilong stepped forward and said, without the slightest hint of lying.

Zhu Cihong also knew that there were patrolling and training people, but they would definitely not exceed these people in front of him.

This is the first time that he, the emperor, has inspected the city defense army, and Zhao Zhilong must have tried to pull people over as much as possible to show his strength.

There are more than 30,000 people in front of him, that is to say, there are only so many troops that Zhao Zhilong can mobilize in his hands, not much.

Zhu Cihong didn't pierce his careful thoughts, and said with a smile: "Xin Chenghou attaches so much importance to city defense, I am very relieved!" ”

Huang Degong stepped forward at this time and said with a glance: "Your Majesty, there are 35,000 orders and 817 people in the city defense army, and 21,652 soldiers and soldiers of our Qinwang army, all of whom are present. ”

"Your Majesty, please!"

Zhu Cihong nodded, then raised his eyes and saw the difference at a glance.

The armor on the left side is distinct, divided into several phalanxes, and the one with a saber general in front of each phalanx is Huang Degong.

Those on the right who look very lazy, and even the armor, swords and guns are not complete, are the city defense troops under Zhao Zhilong.

With these people, if they want to defend the city of Nanjing, they really can't stop the Qing army.

But today, I am not here to find faults, but to win people's hearts, so that the soldiers of the city defense army are grateful to Dade for his use.

Zhu Cihong nodded with a smile, looked very satisfied, waved his hand and said, "Commander Mei, move in." ”

Wu Xiang's left guard commanded Mei Chun to step forward and winked.

Dozens of pro-army guards brought in several large wooden boxes from outside the martial arts arena, and the Ming soldiers on both sides immediately discussed.

One of the commanders of the pro-army guard opened the big wooden boxes one after another, and shouted to the stage: "Your Majesty, the first batch of 50,000 taels of military salaries has been delivered!" ”

"Your Majesty, please!"

Hearing that it was a military salary, the surrounding area exploded all of a sudden.

Military salary!

When was the last time the imperial court paid military salaries?

There was a mess at the bottom, and Zhao Zhilong stepped forward to cough a few times in order to show himself in front of Huang Degong, but it was very embarrassing, and no one cared at all.

Huang Degong snorted coldly, but he didn't say anything sarcastic, and his contempt was all written on his face.

Zhao Zhilong was a little embarrassed and angry, and shouted loudly: "Shut up Benhou, shut up Benhou!" Go down and shut them up! ”

"Catch a few people and cut them down, otherwise they won't be honest!"

Zhao Zhilong's cronies were about to arrest people, but they heard Huang Degong say in a muffled voice: "Pass my military order, silence." ”

The lieutenant general of the Chinese army standing at the bottom clenched his fists and promised, and then ran into the formation.

Before long, the voices of the soldiers on the left gradually decreased until they were completely silent, quietly staring at the stage, waiting for the next instructions.

The soldiers of the pro-military guard and Huang Degong's department all stood in place, not saying a word for the rest of their lives, and after a long time, the soldiers of the city defense army on the right gradually quieted down.

Looking at the murderous Qinwang soldiers beside him, fear arose.

Only then did Huang Degong say: "Please show it to Your Majesty!" ”

After speaking, he took a step to the side to make room for Zhu Cihong.

Zhu Cihong had been watching the performance of the soldiers on both sides, and was very satisfied with the orders and prohibitions of Huang Degong's subordinates, so he stepped forward and said:

"I'm here to apologize to everyone."

"I am apologizing to everyone on behalf of the first emperor, the court owes everyone the money over the years, and it is being liquidated at this moment, this is only the first batch."

"After that, the arrears will be distributed to everyone, and the food and salary of the city defense army will be uniformly dispatched by me in the future."

"The food and salary of the officials and soldiers will be the top priority of the Ming Dynasty in the future, and I will personally do everything I can for every entry and exit!"

"I am the first emperor, thank you for all of you who fought for the Ming Dynasty!"

As the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, he deigned to apologize to all the soldiers, and even admitted the injustice of the soldiers of the three armies in the imperial court's salary, what a mind!

Huang Degong was very moved, and immediately knelt down and shouted: "Minister Huang Degong, I am willing to die for His Majesty, and I will not return to Beijing, and I will not survive!" ”

The soldiers of King Qin's army also knelt down one after another, shouting in unison: "I am willing to die for Your Majesty, and if I don't return to the Beijing Division, I will not survive!" ”

"If you don't return to Beijing, you will not survive!"

"If you don't return to Beijing, you will not survive!"

Zhu Cihong raised his head, his eyes were full of crystals, and he looked around at everyone and said, "Da Ming will please you!" ”

"We have no choice but to defend Nanjing!"

"I, I am bound to fight with the soldiers and civilians of the city until the last moment, the city is here, the city is broken, and I will never live alone!"

Huang Degong half-knelt on the ground, looking down at the bluestone under his feet, a few cloudy tears accidentally slipped from his eyes, reflecting a loyal look on his face.

......

The whole process of the review did not last long, and most of the time it was paid until dark.

Due to the limited funds, the family members of the war brawls and the length of service were not counted, and everyone received the same salary.

This point is the same whether it is the Qinwang army or the city defense army.

Although more than 50,000 taels of silver seems like a lot, if it is divided in the army, it is simply not money.

Fifty thousand taels, ordinary people can't think of it, and they can't spend it in a lifetime.

But in Zhu Cihong's hands, he went through the motions, and he didn't even make a splash.

Everyone present only got about one or two pieces of silver, and the silver didn't sink much in their hands, but it made their hearts heavy.

Seemingly, something more.

Is it Jingzhong?

Is there a point in fighting for it?

Zhu Cihong didn't know, he only knew that he didn't come in vain today, which was like planting a seed in the hearts of each of them.

Just like a dandelion, this seed is scattered with the wind, blowing down to thousands of households in the north and south of the world, taking root and germinating.