In early spring and February, the weather in Datong Town has not completely warmed up, but the snow has melted.

Liu Kai, the general of Jingping City in Datong Town, has a high official position, and he is also a high-ranking officer in the entire Datong Town.

According to the system, Datong Town has a chief military officer, stationed in Datong Town; There is one deputy general soldier on the left, stationed on the left acropolis. Next, there are nine guards. Among these nine people, except for the general Zuo Ye of the standard barracks set up by the special governor in Datong, the remaining eight people were stationed in various places. Next, according to the defense arrangement, there were two guerrilla generals, four guerrillas in the guard, two officers in the camp, and 39 garrisons guarding the castles.

Last year, in Shuozhou, the northern captivity, Liu Kai, a staff general and Li Jian, a guerrilla general who defended the western route, first had "meritorious" efforts to defend the fort, and then had meritorious service in reinforcing troops in the Battle of Lotus Leaf Mountain.

If it weren't for Zhu Zhen to be transferred to the Left Army Governor's Office, then it would be a good result that he has liked for many years.

"General, the He family sent a letter asking about the ponytail fur ......"

Liu Kai had just gotten up from the bed of his own concubine in Jingping City, and his housekeeper was waiting by the side and asking for his opinion.

"Let them not worry." Liu Kai sat quietly, waiting for the girl next to him to clean his face, and spit out this sentence from his mouth.

"Last year's war, the silver allocated by the imperial court and the reward silver are almost there." The butler thought that the girl did not exist, and still said, "There are two garrisons of the fort, and two pier armies and hundreds of households have sent people to ask the little one, and the silver is pasted...... Also, we all know such a large amount of silver, and besides, after the beginning of spring, rations and grain varieties will be bought and sold separately for the goods to be prepared here...... On the Datong side, Zhu Zhi and Zhenguo General Zhu Junliang both sent letters, and all the commercial houses in Datong, especially the Huangming Ji Zhuxing, are waiting for our news. ”

Liu Kai grabbed the girl's hand, made him stop moving, and then looked at the housekeeper: "Zhu Zhi said so?" ”

"Faith is here!" The housekeeper's eyes lit up, "General, General Zhu's intention should be that everything is as before." ”

"You go down first." Liu Kai sent away the girl who was serving him to wash, and took the letter in his hand first.

Zhu Zhi is Zhu Zhen's brother and has always taken care of some chores for him.

This letter is indeed Zhu Zhi's own handwriting. Without Zhu Zhen's nod, of course he didn't dare to write to Jingping, saying that everything was ready on the Datong side.

"You go and call An Xingkui to come, I want to ask about the movement over there in the Tartars."

In the border guard military system of the Ming Dynasty, there are two special types of troops, one is called the dun army, and the other is called the night army.

The dun army is a very small guard, in charge of watching the enemy platform and passing the beacon fire. There are 10 people in the big dun platform and 5 people in the small duntai, they are always at the forefront of the front, and the problem of eating and drinking is not small, and they are the most bitter soldiers in the border army.

What is not far behind them is that they do not collect at night. This branch of the army, in fact, is patrolling and sentry, and it is called not collecting at night because it does not return to the camp at night.

These two arms are collectively known as the Dun Sentinel Army. Under normal conditions, there are about 5,000 generals in Datong Town, who are responsible for patrolling, probing, and military reconnaissance at the outermost part of the hundreds of miles of defense line that Datong Town is responsible for.

Regarding the living conditions of the Dun Sentinel Army, there were ministers who recited after inspecting Datong during the Hongzhi period: the sergeants ran in the wind and frost, their faces were miserable, and their armor was not brown. His wife lived in a mud hut with no smoke and no fire. Men and women of seven or eight years old, there are still those who are naked and facing the sun.

In the area of Jingping West Road, there are only two dun troops commanded by hundreds of households. Now that Liu Kai's housekeeper has mentioned it, they have all come to ask Dunjun about the silver sticker.

Because the Dun army was the most difficult, the imperial court gave them subsidies. In addition to the fixed salary of the Dun Army, which is two stones per person per month, Datong Town also gave the Dun Sentinel Army an additional subsidy of one person for every two people to calm their hearts.

Now, more and more money has been depreciated into silver. According to the current grain price in Datong border town, one stone of grain is between two and three taels. According to the regulations, the monthly salary of the Dun Sentinel Army is 10,000 taels and a few thousand taels. The hard work of the imperial court for the dun sentry army was given enough treatment on the surface. But how much of this silver, especially the sticky silver, fell into the pockets of the soldiers?

An Xingkui's official position is Deputy Qianhu, and he is now in charge of the West Road Dun Sentinel Army distributed on this side of Jingping.

When he saw Liu Kai, the first thing he asked was: "General Liu, when will we be able to pay the silver and stickers of the sentry army on the West Road?" The brothers at the bottom are all waiting with their eyes open. ”

"What's the hurry? It must be sorted out over there in Datong, and Guo Houye has not yet arrived. Liu Kai looked at him, "Let me ask you, after the Tatars suffered a loss last year, is there any movement in the north now that spring is in the spring?" ”

An Xingkui shook his head: "I don't collect it at night, I have already gone to the various accounts that have been divided, and they only ask when they will be able to open a private market." Ponytails and fur are all prepared for winter. ”

Liu Kai was a little annoyed: "Last year, I wanted to cast iron, hoe, plow, and rake, so there were fewer pots!" Did they say why they suddenly went on a rampage? ”

It was those thousands of riders who went south and broke the tacit understanding of the past few years.

"Then they can't be the masters, they are all small tribes."

"Small tribes?" Liu Kai sneered, "The appetite over there in Fengzhou Beach is getting bigger and bigger. Have you forgotten that Liu Gui was beheaded in the eleventh year of Hongzhi? How can the private market be fanfare! I replied that if I wanted something, it would be nice to send an envoy to ask for tribute! ”

"General Liu, don't talk about this. According to my command, there was no further movement from the Tartars. suffered a loss, presumably I also know that it is best to be as usual. He wants to compete for power in the grassland, but he can't leave the private market here in Xuanda. Send an envoy to ask for tribute? He is a lord of ten thousand households, and he is also worthy? ”

Liu Kai, the general, also smiled disdainfully, as if he was not the one who cowered in fear in Jingping Castle in the face of the cavalry under my command last year.

After a while, Liu Kai said, "Let's get down to business." I have received the letter, and I will send you all night to ask questions, and I will also arrange a day when the Dun army will sit on the sentry. When will this private market open, I will ask the chief soldier again. ”

"General Liu, you just say it clearly! Now, the general is still the chief soldier, and the soldiers are looking forward to it! Last year, some of the Dun Sentinel Army was broken, and the people who are now making up for the past are all rushing to go to the private market. It's best to get things done before Marquis Guo comes. This private market has been opened once, and this year there may be no more boundless troubles, and the general is also helping the Hou Ye to straighten out the border affairs of Datong! ”

"I see, you have to arrange it first, so that nothing goes wrong on the Tartar side."

On the border between the Ming Dynasty and the Northern Yuan Dynasty, the general soldiers, staff generals, middle-level generals and even low-level soldiers guarding the border seem to have other friendships with the "Tartars" in their mouths.

This tacit friendship has lasted for nearly a hundred years, and it has become more and more "close" since the tribute.

Even Liu Gui, the commander of the Datong avant-garde in the 11th year of Hongzhi, was shown to the public because he sold weapons to the Mongols without permission, but he did not stop the "deepening" of this friendship in the slightest.

Not long after An Xingkui left, Liu Kai ushered in another acquaintance.

"Commander Zheng, why did you get to Jingping?" He looked at Zheng Minghui, the commander of Shuozhou Wei, in amazement.

"Haven't you read the official document yet? The military department ordered me to go to the town guard. Zheng Minghui's face was not good-looking.

Liu Kai's face was also a little ugly, he really hadn't looked at the official document sent recently, but his face was ugly not because of this: "Why?" ”

"Why?" Zheng Minghui patted the table, "There is no other reason, because after that bullshit martial champion was reprimanded by the emperor, he asked for help!" He is a dignified martial champion, and his Lao Tzu has become the deputy thousand households of Quanzhou Wei, so he has to come to Shuozhou, which was broken last year, to take over Lao Tzu's position! ”

“…… Wu Zhuangyuan? To Shuozhou? Liu Kai's face was even more ugly, so how should he, the general of the West Road on this side of Jingping, treat a stunned young man?

The problem is that he is not simply stunned, he is a martial champion appointed by His Majesty, the first martial champion in the Ming Dynasty who has passed the palace test and has officially sued himself.

"How much trouble, you know." Zheng Minghui looked at Liu Kai, "I broke the fort here, and I was robbed a lot, so I was transferred to the town to guard me." However, the number of Shuozhou Wei Tuntian is the highest in the entire Datong Town, and Yu Dayou will come to manage Shuozhou Wei later, is Liu Shen ready for it? ”

Among the many health centers in Datong Town, the scale of new tuntian in Shuozhou in recent years is the largest.

During the Zhengde period, there were only more than 1,500 hectares of tuntian in Shuozhouwei here, only 600 hectares in Pingyuwei, only more than 250 hectares in Mayi, where the guerrilla general Li Jian was located, and there were basically no tuntians in Jingping.

But now, in just about ten years, under the "efforts" of a general of the West Road, the scale of Shuozhouwei's tuntian has exceeded 5,000 hectares, Pingyuwei's is more than 3,000 hectares, and Jingping's guard of thousands of households has basically grown from nothing to more than 2,000 hectares.

Tuntian, needless to say, is planted by soldiers and military households.

The newly added tuntian fields are naturally "all reclaimed".

But Zheng Minghui now asked Liu Kai if he was ready, but Liu Kai was a little creepy.

Last year, except for the border towns, all the southern provinces were clearing the land.

Therefore, what is the scale of the military tun in Datong Town, especially in Shuozhou, and the imperial court actually looks at the number in the Zhengde period.

But where is Yu Dayou going, why did he come to Shuozhou?

He is here, Shuozhou Wei actually has more than 5,000 hectares of tuntian now, doesn't the emperor know?

“…… If you want to go to Zhenyuwei, you should first go to Datong and ask General Zhu about it. Liu Kai frowned, "The Tartars came from us last year, not because Shuozhou is not what it used to be. Shuozhou is now the granary of Datong, and there must be no loss! ”

"I just grabbed a lot of potato seeds from Taiyuan that I harvested last year!" Zheng Minghui was depressed, "Zhenyuwei's tuntian is less than two thousand hectares!" Less than two thousand! ”

At this moment, Guo Xun and Yu Dayou had just prepared and set off from the capital to Datong.

Many thousands of households in Datong Town are entering the "busy farming" season, urging soldiers and military households to take care of the winter wheat planted last year.

There was a great victory, and there was the Marquis of Wuding to sit in the town, from Taiyuan to the north or other directions, there were many carts and horses of commercial houses on the road carrying goods to Datong.

Among them, there are even businessmen from Jiangnan.

"I don't know how many ponytails I can receive this year, but now I can ask for ponytails everywhere."

Some people are looking forward to it. Because of the war last year, many people in Jiangnan and even in Beijing liked clothes and hats decorated with horsetail hair lost a large source of raw materials. After the establishment of that group of pastoral supervisors, they did not dare to supply as wantonly as in previous years.

Now that the Tartars have suffered a defeat, it should be a lot more peaceful in the next few years, right?

Merchants chase profit on the way.

In the city of Datong Town, in addition to the official offices, there is also a representative vassal waiting to move to the capital.

Today's acting king is the fifth generation, he is already very old, and he is also very low-key, and he does not leave the palace all day.

However, the Dai clan has actually multiplied on a large scale, and now the middle and low-level clans other than the county king are also very confused.

The emperor allowed them to take the examination and allowed them to do business.

Some people are ready to go to the capital with the king, while others feel that they have a better chance in Datong.

At this time, Zhu Junliang, the general of Fengguo, was giving a banquet to Zhu Xingjun, the manager of the Datong branch of the Emperor Ming Ji.

"What does the British Duke say?"

Zhu Xingjun replied with a smile when he heard this: "General Fengguo, don't worry, since Your Majesty has a will, General Zhu has so many ways to go in Datong, and I have already asked the general number for instructions." There must be nothing wrong with this. I believe that it will not be long before General Zhu, the manager of the grain bank, will come down. ”

"What General Fengguo, don't mention it!" Zhu Junliang toasted him, "Then thank you very much, I want you to take care of me more in the future!" ”

"How dare you dare, the bloodline of General Fengguo's heavenly family, I have climbed high. What's more, I am in charge of the Datong branch, and this year's profits still depend on Manager Zhu. ”

"Get rich together, get rich together, hahahaha."

After a few years, the tentacles of Huang Mingji have come to more and more places, and the middle and high-level within it have become more and more complex.

Now in Datong, the person in charge here has also been connected with the clan relatives of the Dai Domain.

With the contacts and channels they have accumulated in Datong Town for so many years, everyone has come together because of the word "fortune".

Winter is over, and the new year's business is about to begin.

Datong Town, which has just won a "great victory", is full of vitality and vitality.

Unclothed and emaciated soldiers tended to the winter wheat that had been moistened by last year's snow in the barren fields.

Outside the Great Wall, the Ming sentinels were very conscientious, and they did not collect their troops at night to inquire about the enemy's situation, and were so "brave" that they could even ride their horses to the tents of the Mongolian soldiers, and even dared to "confront" each other face to face with the Tatar cavalry less than ten paces, shouting to each other "mouth cannons".

In the northwest of the capital, Yu Dayou, who saw Juyong Pass, looked at this Xiongguan, but his voice was not lonely: "Outside of this Juyong Pass, the situation in the border town is like this now?" ”

Zhao Benxue was silent for a moment, and then said, "Your Majesty is ambitious, but he can't easily solve these problems. It's you and me, if there is no General Staff Yang, Wang Shangshu and others to dissect the truth, how can we know that the border town has been eroded to this point? When you go to Shuozhouwei, you are on the cusp. ”

"Arrange for me to go to Shuozhou, and it is really a heavy task!" Yu Dayou looked at the teacher who had become his staff officer, "Master Zhao, it's going hard!" ”

"This is your first level." Zhao Benxue stared at him, "Your Majesty has great trust in you. If you want to become a generation of famous generals, how can you be afraid of this little difficulty? ”

"yes." Yu Dayou gently clamped the horse's belly, "Get out!" ”

In the capital behind him, Tang Shunzhi has already passed the strategic test, and the next level is the imperial test.

Perhaps in pure learning, it is difficult to catch up with him and surpass him.

But knowledge and practice are different.

The chances of the earl and even the marquis and duke are outside this pass, in the border town.

On February 12 of the sixth year of Jiajing, Guo Xun, Marquis of Wuding, and Yu Dayou, the champion of Bingxu Kewu, left Juyong Pass together and went to Datong.

Scattered Datong.

(End of chapter)