After all, we won a big victory this time, so who wouldn't be happy?
In the second half of the night, they became anxious. They didn't know whether the general named Zhu Changwu could keep his words.
Among them, many of them had killed people, and they had a lot of ears in their pockets, and they just wanted to go back and redeem the rewards. But what if people don’t admit it?
Don't think that something like this won't happen. At the end of the Ming Dynasty, all kinds of strange things could happen among the Ming army.
For example, if you win a battle and are punished, the reason is that you have lost too much troops and did not give gifts to the civil servants.
For another example, if you lose a battle, you will be praised. The reason is also very simple. Just give money to the civil servants, and it will be said that you have preserved your strength and can fight again in the future.
In a chaotic era, there is no such thing as victory or defeat. All that can be decided is the mouths of civil servants.
And what if they actually won the battle? They were just ordinary soldiers. If the superior officer didn't reward them, what could they do?
Amidst such doubtful thoughts, when the ten thousand Ming soldiers were woken up in the morning, many of them still had red eyes, obviously not sleeping well.
"Let's go back to the capital." General Wu Linzheng, the city commander, looked at the performance of the soldiers below and sighed in his heart. In fact, even he himself doesn't know what kind of treatment he will receive when he returns.
As a veteran military commander, Wu Linzheng had seen many injustices and had already become numb.
So what if we win the battle? In his opinion, even if he doesn't receive any reward when he goes back, it's normal, at least he won't be surprised.
The team was walking on the official road like this. Everyone lowered their heads and remained silent, which made people feel very depressed.
Just as the team was slowly heading towards the city of Beijing, a horse was coming from far away and heading straight towards the direction of the team.
"It's Jin Yiwei." Hu Yunfeng's eyes were very good, and he spoke before others could react.
"Oh, let's stop for a moment." After hearing this, Wu Linzheng reined in his horse and stopped. Together with Ji Jinkai, Lou Heyang, Liang Jun, Hu Yunfeng and others, they were at the front of the team, waiting on horseback for the arrival of the Jin Yiwei.
The war horse was very fast, and it arrived in front of the Ming army in less than a breath. Following the Jin Yiwei, he dismounted, clasped his fists at Wu Linzheng and others and said, "The general has prepared food in the city, and there are also All rewards are given to the officers and soldiers, now please line up and enter the city."
"What did you say?" Wu Linzheng asked again as if he didn't hear clearly.
"The general said that everything has been prepared, including food and rewards. Now the victorious army is invited to enter the city and accept the congratulations and celebrations of the people in the city." Jin Yiwei repeated it again, this time, the voice was louder than before. On a lot.
The sound swayed with the wind and carried far away, so that many soldiers could hear it clearly. After a moment of silence, there was a loud roar, and then many Ming soldiers became excited.
The general had prepared everything and was waiting for them to enter the city.
He said that food and rewards were ready.
By the way, he also said that there were people waiting to congratulate him. This... This was enough to prove that the general did not lie to them.
"Oh, hahaha, okay, great. In this case, you go back and report to the general, and we will come right away." At this moment, Wu Linzheng's face was also full of joy.
Zhu Changwu did not abandon them, but said that it would be great if he did what he said. In this way, the sacrifices of the soldiers will be rewarded. In this way, when there is a next war, everyone can kill the enemy, do their best, and even shed blood for the Ming Dynasty.
Since Zhu Changwu has already done a lot of work, of course they have to express themselves. "Come on, all soldiers, be 100% alert. We are going to return to the capital with our heads held high. By the way, don't you have a lot of trophies? Come on, take them all in your hands, or hang them on your body, and let them go. Look at the people of the capital, we are a strong army that can fight and protect their safety."
Wu Linzheng still had a skill, at least he knew how to cooperate with Zhu Changwu. As soon as he gave the order, the soldiers below took action quickly. They took out ears from their arms one by one, and some held them in their hands. If he killed too many enemies, he would simply pin his ears on his body, making him look like a man with many ears.
But it's not funny at all, because almost all of these soldiers are stained with blood, most of which belongs to the enemy, not their own. It was the blood stained on their bodies that gave them a chilling air, and made others no longer dare to look down upon them.
With the troops rushing forward, they soon regained their energy. Then the army straightened their backs and walked straight to Zhangyi Gate in the outer city of Beijing, which was less than ten miles away.
In the huge square in front of Changyi Gate, there are indeed many people gathered here, and there are many pots where the white rice is churning and smelling fragrant.
After Zhu Changwu came out of the Jinyiwei dungeon, he came here and saw a busy scene.
Zhang Xi, who was already in charge of the Ministry of Punishment, was leading some uniformed guards to inspect the work. In particular, he ordered the people who came to watch to stand in line and not to crowd. After the victorious army returned to the division, what would they shout? The slogan goes like this.
Zhu Changwu came over. After Zhang Yi saw it, he hurriedly ran over, "Sir, what do you think? Is there anything that needs improvement?"
"Yes, well done." Zhu Changwu nodded with great satisfaction when he saw that although the square was still a bit messy, there was no crowding or hurting of people. "By the way, are these people recruited by those merchants?"
Hearing Zhu Changwu praise him for doing a good job, Zhang Yi felt that his bones were two taels lighter. When he asked about these common people again, he laughed and said: "Yes, sir, these are common people found by merchants. I told them that if they want us to buy their food, they have to cooperate with us. The young master didn’t know that these merchants did not refuse at all after hearing this, especially after learning that our Ming army won the battle. They all took the initiative to increase the number of people who came to watch the ceremony. You see, the number of people here is much more than we originally expected."
Last night, Zhu Changwu talked to Zhang Xi about how to welcome the triumphant army.
If an army wants to be used by the country, the first thing is to have enough loyalty and a strong sense of identification with the country.
A grand enough welcome ceremony can better stimulate the spirit and naturally give rise to a sense of honor. With these foundations, as long as the method of leading troops is correct, a strong and sincere army will truly appear in front of everyone.
Zhu Changwu had an idea, but he didn't know what the people of Ming Dynasty thought and what impression they had about the army at this time. In order to prevent the embarrassing situation of no one paying attention when the army returned to the army, his request to Zhang Yi was that he should make an agreement with the merchants while buying grain. Whoever could "invite" enough people to watch would be the winner. Whose food to buy?
This can be regarded as another exchange of interests.
He gave the order, but Zhu Changwu didn't know whether Zhang Yi could do it well, or he didn't know whether these businessmen were willing to cooperate.
What they are afraid of is that all the merchants will refuse together. In this case, they will still have to buy food, but there will be no people, which will not be fun. If by then I am the only one who welcomes the army back with a group of royal guards, wouldn't it become a joke?
What Zhu Changwu didn't expect was that Zhang Yi was so successful in doing things, and these businessmen were so sensible. Not only did no one object, but they also cooperated with their full strength. Look at the crowds around the square now. They are far better than he had imagined before. The number is much higher.
Speaking of which, this is the cleverness of businessmen.
Regardless of Li Zicheng's slogan about not paying for food when the King of Chuang comes, which attracts people to welcome him, in fact, whoever believes this sentence is the real fool.
If a political power does not have taxes, how can it survive?
The most basic question is, the country has no tax, how can the army support them, and how can they pay salaries to so many staff?
Is it okay for everyone not to eat or drink? Is it okay for everyone to contribute selflessly?
Don’t be ridiculous, a regime that can even solve its own life, how can it solve the various problems of the entire country? Therefore, this is obviously just a slogan. When you are really helpless, you can just shout it. Anyone who takes it seriously will be in trouble.
Businessmen are shrewd, and they naturally see this, so they are actually very resistant to intruders. In fact, in history, when the Dashun Army entered Beijing, the businessmen were indeed unlucky. I don’t know how much. People were robbed and their fortunes were ruined.
They clearly saw the truth, but the fact was that the Ming army was really weak. Even if they wanted to support the Ming army, they couldn't find any better way. Donate money directly? Don't be ridiculous, facts will prove that this money will not fall into the pockets of ordinary soldiers at all, but directly into the pockets of the generals and the civil servants who can control them.
This led to the fact that they didn't know what to do if they wanted to contribute. Now, Zhang Yi found them and after telling them what they wanted to do, they keenly discovered that this seemed to be an opportunity to do something for the army.
And there is no need to pay anything at all. You only need to notify the people who often come to your store to buy food, tell them that there is such a thing, and let them join in the fun. How does that sentence go? Those who are rich support their financial position, and those who have no money support their personal position.