Cutting over the end of the Ming Dynasty: a dog-leg knife at the beginning

Chapter 363

Early the next morning, the smell of food woke up the soldiers of the Zhejiang Army from their slumber...it was time for breakfast.

Breakfast includes steamed buns, steamed buns, salted egg porridge, and, yes, buckets of piping hot milk soup.The Heluo New Army raised hundreds of cows, most of which produced milk. The milk was made into dry cheese that was harder than bricks and was stored. It was brought with them when they went on an expedition. Every morning, the cooking soldiers would take out some dry cheese. Put it into boiling water and boil it, then add sugar to make it sweet and delicious. Every soldier must drink a cup before having breakfast.Facing such a pure 24K rich man, the Zhejiang Army soldiers were unable to complain. They could only throw away their teeth and repay the enthusiasm of the Heluo New Army with loud chewing sounds.These guys are the best cleaners. If you eat with them, you don't even have to wash the dishes. The dishes will always be cleaner than those licked by dogs...

After eating a delicious meal that may not be available during the Chinese New Year, everyone started to set out on the road.The new army of Heluo started first with cavalry. These cavalry rode the Liaodong war horses that made every cavalry general jealous. They held arrogant horses and rushed to the front line in two rows. The formation opened up, like a black python with teeth and claws.Then, the infantry rolled up the mulberry oiled paper on the ground and put them in a bundle, put them on the cart, brought the camels to harness, and then a group of ten boarded the carriage and set off one by one. The Zhejiang army was amazed.In contrast, the performance of the Zhejiang Army was a bit bad. It was messy and slow-moving. The leading troops had traveled several miles, and the rest hadn't left yet.This is still a sign that they are focused on moving with the Heluo New Army so that they can have a few more meals. If it is like usual, at least before noon, they are unlikely to leave.Wu Sheng was also not very embarrassed about this, and said to Yang Menglong and Qi Hu with a wry smile: "My department is lax in training, and the discipline is lax. You will laugh at me!"

Yang Menglong shrugged, saying that he has seen worse brothers, and this can only be regarded as pediatrics.Qi Hu sighed repeatedly. He hadn't been back to Zhejiang for 20 years. He only knew that the Zhejiang army was not as good as before, but he didn't know that the Zhejiang army had fallen to this point. He felt very emotional.However, compared with yesterday, the marching speed of the Zhejiang army was more than twice as fast. Firstly, they were full of food and drink, and they had more energy. Second, they were afraid of being thrown off by the new army of Heluo. Today, they will starve again. I want to die too.

After walking for about ten miles, the crowds in front gradually became thicker. The Ming army moved back and forth, and many merchants mixed in. They were quite surprised to see such a large army approaching.Going forward, the large tents were like dark clouds in the sky, stretching to the horizon, horns resounded through the sky, Ming army's flags were densely packed, and when the wind blew, there was a sound of hunting, just like a boundless forest, the sound was extremely frightening.Tens of thousands of troops have been assembled here. This is the second time that the Ming Dynasty has assembled such a large-scale army in order to suppress the rebellion.The first time was a few months ago, when Liu Yulie was ordered to lead tens of thousands of Sichuan and Zhejiang troops into Denglai to suppress the rebellion. Because Liu Yulie himself was a fool in marching and fighting, and the imperial court wanted to surrender, this army was easily defeated by the rebels. , Countless casualties.Now the imperial court's patience with the rebels has reached its limit, and once again a larger army has been assembled, and the most capable troops have been transferred. The end of the rebels has arrived!
The arrival of the Heluo New Army caused a commotion in this army. These elite soldiers and generals from all over the country were shocked to see the terrifying cavalry lineup and the exaggerated convoy. They couldn't close their mouths, especially Seeing thousands of Heluo New Army soldiers coming in cars, they all cursed in their hearts: "Holy crap, are you here to enjoy the mountains and rivers or to fight?" The sturdy camels and war horses were even more so. The eyes of these soldiers, who had not smelled meat for several months, were filled with green light, and they were thinking about how to kill and eat a few heads to improve their lives.At this time, a thin, seemingly malnourished civil servant came to Yang Menglong and Wu Sheng. He stared at the Heluo New Army with one eye and the Zhejiang Army with the other. His expression was strange and his tone was somewhat arrogant: " Are the Heluo New Army and Zhejiang Army here?"

Yang Menglong cupped his hands and said, "Exactly!"

The official said, "You are late!"

Stern!

Wu Sheng quickly said: "My lord, please forgive me! Our entire army has thousands of troops, all relying on walking, plus the lack of people along the way, and nowhere to raise food, this is only a few days late..."

Before Wu Sheng finished speaking, Yang Menglong rolled his eyes and snorted: "The Ministry of War gave me an order to start from Nanyang and arrive in Jiaodong within two months. We only took one and a half months to arrive. I can't figure out where I am. late!"

The civil servant fixed both eyes on Yang Menglong, as if he was sizing up an idiot.In fact, the subtext of "you are late" is that the military rations are all distributed, and there is no share for you, do you want?give money!This is a common method used by civil officials who are responsible for the supply and distribution of food and grass. They rely on this trick to make the generals lose their temper.Wu Sheng is from a family of military generals, so he naturally knows how powerful he is, but Yang Menglong, a bastard, doesn't know, even if he knows, he doesn't intend to take advantage of this monkey. In the lead, to threaten the general with the supply of food and grass?What the hell!The Nanyang officials who have been with him for three years are very aware of this bastard's stubborn temper, and usually want him to help or find someone to borrow some money. But this civil servant didn't know, he made Yang Menglong roll his eyes so much, he slammed up angrily, and said: "This is the order given to you by the Ministry of War, but not the order given to you by the Superintendent. !"

Yang Menglong stretched his hand forward: "Bring it!"

The civil servant was stunned for a moment: "What are you taking?"

Yang Menglong said: "Get the order from the supervisory army when I should arrive! The signatures and seals must be all in order, otherwise I'm afraid you won't be able to afford the charge of endangering the military order!"

Wu Sheng tugged on Yang Menglong's sleeve repeatedly, hoping that he would not continue to commit crimes and offend this low-ranking but very important civil servant.But once Yang Menglong starts committing crimes, eighteen cows will not be able to pull them back. How dare you, a rank-2000 civil servant, dare to go crazy in front of me, a rank-[-] ginseng?I see you are itchy!The civil servant had never encountered such a bastard before, and his beard was so angry that his beard was raised.Of course, he couldn't get the order of the supervising army. Although the supervising army is big, it is still not as big as the Ministry of War after all, isn't it?Besides, from Nanyang to Jiaodong Peninsula, the distance of more than [-] miles, the Heluo New Army can arrive in more than a month, which is already jaw-droppingly fast in this era. He is making trouble for no reason. The guy really can only be deflated.He snorted angrily and said, "I am too lazy to waste my saliva with you guys. In a word, you are late. The food supply is tight these days. You should find a way to raise food yourself. Now take the troops to the Tanxiang Temple." Station in the area!"

Wu Sheng turned pale with fright, his troops had been out of food for several days, and he had hoped to get supplements in Laizhou, but now because Yang Menglong offended this guy, he had to continue to be out of food, wouldn't this force his troops to collapse!He hurriedly begged, but it was useless. The civil servant didn't give him a chance to make amends, so he walked away.Wu Sheng wanted to chase after him, but was grabbed by Yang Menglong: "Why are you begging him?"

Wu Sheng said: "General Yang, you have caused a catastrophe! This man is the quartermaster who is in charge of food and grass distribution. If you offend him, we will all go hungry!"

Yang Menglong snorted: "It seems like we don't have to go hungry if we don't offend him!"

The treatment of the Ming Dynasty army can only be described in one word, that is: miserable.An elite army like the Guan Ning Army, which is supported by the whole country, is better. Ordinary troops can even have problems with food, and the supply of food and grass is not at all decided by the generals.If you offend the quartermaster, you will be miserable, just wait to starve to death, but if you don't offend the quartermaster... you can only eat half full. After all, the quartermaster has come to serve you people on this dangerous battlefield. Let people do volunteer work?Besides, as soon as the food and grass were collected, a lot of money was corrupted. After layers of deductions, it was seriously shrunk in the hands of the quartermaster. If you want the army to get enough food, you have to pay for it yourself. Considering the morals of civil officials in the Ming Dynasty, Dear, do you think this is possible?
If you offend the quartermaster, you can only starve to death, but if you don't offend the quartermaster, you will starve to death. This is the treatment of the Ming army.

Yang Menglong knew exactly what Wu Sheng was worried about, and he kept patting his chest: "Don't worry, with me here, you won't be hungry!"

Wu Sheng smiled wryly: "I know that General Yang brought more than 100 carts of luggage, but how long can this little food last?"

Yang Menglong shrugged and said, "I have signed contracts with several grain banks, and I will buy from them enough grain to feed 4000 people for three months at a price twice the market price, and they will deliver the grain in ten days. Come on, so much food, no matter what, it’s enough for us to eat! Let’s go, let’s set up camp!”

Wu Sheng was really speechless. Although it was enjoyable to eat with Yang Menglong and eat better than New Year's Eve, he always felt embarrassed to eat free food like this.But what can I do?Yang Menglong had already offended the quartermaster, and the quartermaster hated him too, so he would no longer allocate food to the Zhejiang army. Besides, even if the quartermaster was willing to allocate food to the Zhejiang army, the soldiers of the Zhejiang army would not necessarily I am happy, their mouths have been raised, and they obviously have meat to eat with the Heluo New Army, who would like to drink gruel and eat pickles every day!Forget it, don't think about it, I hope to win a big battle, seize some property, and pay back Yang Menglong's favor by then.

Tanxiang Temple is a well-known temple in Laiyang area. It is built on Honolulu, which is about [-] meters high, covering an area of ​​more than one mu. There is a square in front of the temple for hundreds of soldiers to practice.There is also a pagoda in the back mountain, which is as high as thirteen floors. It is exquisite and exquisite, and it is really a fine work of art.It is said that the relics of eminent monks are placed on the top of the tower, and every night of the full moon, it will emit a silver-white strange light, and emit a faint scent of sandalwood, which is intoxicating.The temple is very rich in incense, and there are always a large number of faithful men and women going up to the mountain to burn incense and make wishes during festivals. Every night when the full moon is full, many literati and poets come here especially, wanting to see the magnificent splendor of the pagoda.Ordinarily, it should be a great thing to be stationed here, at least there is no need to worry about where to set up the headquarters, but when they boarded Honolulu, Yang Menglong and Wu Sheng discovered that the rebels had already burned down the Tanxiang Temple when they besieged Laiyang Now, only ruined walls, burnt beams and rafters are left in the Tanxiang Temple. A Maitreya Buddha is lying in the rubble. ——Perhaps this world has reached the point where even Buddha Maitreya can't laugh.

Yang Menglong curled his lips and ordered to clean up.The engineers of the Heluo New Army immediately showed their talents, cleared the rubble, dredged the aqueduct, dug the stove, chopped bamboo and broken it into rafters, and then covered it with a layer of waterproof mulberry oil paper, and then covered it with a layer of canvas. The bricks were pressed tightly, and it took only half a day to clean up the burnt-out Tanxiang Temple.

Others were not idle, digging trenches along the mountain and building camps.Since the trees in this area had been almost cut down, the Heluo New Army had no choice but to cut bamboo from the back mountain, cut it into deer villages, and set them up along the trenches to form a simple but absolutely practical line of defense.

Wu Sheng commented with a professional eye: "This kind of defense line is no good and cannot withstand the impact of the rebel cavalry!"

Yang Menglong said: "It's really irresistible—the premise is that their cavalry are ordered to rush to the deer village."

Only then did Wu Sheng discover that at least 1000 or [-] archers of the Heluo New Army were maintaining the crossbows in their hands, and some people unloaded more than a dozen flying thunder cannons from the carts. But judging from the exaggerated volume, the caliber of this gun is frighteningly large.

More than 1000 crossbows were fired in turn, and more than a dozen unscrupulous cannons bombed indiscriminately. In addition, more than 1000 cavalrymen on Shawo Ridge one mile away may burst out at any time. With a ruthless shot, it is really not easy for the rebels to capture Than Hsiang Temple!

Wu Sheng looked around and found another new thing: he couldn't find the supercilious supervising army.He lowered his voice and asked, "Master Yang, where are you supervising the army?"

As soon as Wu Yong was mentioned, Yang Menglong couldn't help curling his lips: "That guy? He didn't come."

Wu Sheng was stunned: "Didn't come?"

Yang Menglong said: "Yes, he opened a leather boot factory in Nanyang, and he is busy soliciting business. How can he care about these crap things...Anyway, the memorial to the imperial court has been written. Once I defeat the rebels, he will Just hand in the memorial, and the task will be completed, and it will be the same as whether you came or not."

And such a supervisor?

Ah, the Heluo New Army is really a wonderful army!
(End of this chapter)