The cold wind was blowing, the snowflakes were gradually falling, and the entire land was dyed white, covering up the disgusting yellow color before.
More than three thousand cavalrymen lined up in square columns, with white snow falling on their robes, like a piece of white tofu, blending into the sky and the earth.
The conspicuous armor antenna can't be seen clearly at this time, but the red color is still eye-catching.
Lu Daqi was not unambiguous. Wearing woolen underwear and a cotton robe, he rode arrogantly to the camp to review the army that was about to travel thousands of miles.
"Where's the war horse?"
Looking at the group of motionless soldiers in front of him, Lu Daqi was filled with emotion, but then he felt something was wrong and couldn't help but be surprised.
"Um, the war horses are fine, and the snowy weather is unbearable. I just need people to arrive."
Zhu Jing was wrapped in a cotton robe and followed step by step. When she saw Lu Daqi's face became solemn, she was afraid that she had misunderstood something, so she immediately explained.
"Horses are more valuable than people!" he emphasized.
"Then let's disperse as soon as possible. It's not enough to freeze the big guys."
Lu Daqi came to his senses and hurriedly waved his hands.
"It's out of the way."
Zhu Jing whispered: "They are lined with wool, the soles of their feet are wool boots, and their hands are wool gloves. They are very warm!"
"Good guy!"
Lu Daqi was shocked: "How much does this cost?"
"Hehe, this outfit costs about ten yuan per person. If you add the equipment of the war horse, it will be even more..."
"Don't worry, these three thousand people are all elites drawn from the Beijing camp. They are all heroes who are as good as five, one person and three horses..."
"Okay!" Lu Daqi stroked his beard and said cheerfully: "With your protection, where can I go in these nine directions and thousands of miles?"
Zhu Jing was also excited.
After this trip, although the time was tight and the task was heavy, it was extraordinary, and promotion to official rank was no longer a problem.
In early November, when heavy snow filled the Shuntian Prefecture, Lu Daqi led dozens of accountants, more than a hundred subordinate officials, and three thousand cavalry, and rushed to Shanhaiguan in a mighty manner.
Jiubian's first target is Ji Town and Shanhaiguan, the gateway to Beijing.
Ji Town is extraordinary. Among the Nine Borders, it is second only to Xuanfu and Datong. During the Wanli Period, there were nearly 100,000 soldiers and horses. Qi Jiguang guarded Ji Town back then.
The garrison scope starts from Shanhaiguan in the east, goes west through Yongping (Lulong), Qian'an, Zunhua, Jizhou, Pinggu, Shunyi, Changping and other prefecture and county passes, and reaches the border town south of Juyong Pass, stretching for 2,000 miles. .
Famous fortresses such as Badaling, Juyongguan, Shanhaiguan, etc. are all under his command.
In Shanhaiguan, after Wu Sangui moved Ningyuan and other guard posts inland, the Shanhaiguan area became the place where the remaining Liaodong people lived.
At the same time, although Guan Ning's army has been repeatedly weakened, it still has a deep foundation, and the heavy tasks of Shanhaiguan can be carefully inspected.
Both of these places are in Gyeonggi and can be said to be top priorities.
"Budang, it's not too late to go after the snow melts, why bother today?"
Three thousand cavalrymen braved the wind and snow, and their horses stepped on the muddy ground. From time to time, they sprained their feet and maybe injured their horseshoes. This made many cavalrymen dissatisfied.
Zhu Jing obeyed the military spirit and couldn't help but ask.
Lu Daqi had a good temper, and said in a deep voice: "It is precisely because of the winter that the soldiers cannot move, so we can move easily!"
These words suddenly woke up Zhu Jing.
Waiting in front of the emperor for a long time made him extremely politically sensitive, and he immediately realized the beauty of this opportunity.
Their actions are bound to offend others, and whether it is Jizhen or Shanhaiguan, they will definitely not let them be manipulated.
If there is trouble in summer and autumn, the possibility of mutiny is extremely high. Even if they are slaves, they will not rush to send troops in this cold winter. How can these Qiu Ba people make trouble in this winter?
To wander is to seek death.
In just a few days, the group arrived at Jizhou, Qianxi County, and Sanlitun Camp.
Lu Daqi immediately checked the military register and was immediately disappointed.
Waiting on the side is Xin Wencheng, the commander-in-chief of Jizhen.
He was stationed at Xianren Pass for several years. Although he missed the battles of Wuchang and Nanjing, he recovered Gongchang Prefecture and Minzhou Prefecture during the Shaanxi War, so he was awarded the title of Qinzhou Bo.
In recognition of his hard work and perseverance, the emperor appointed him as the commander-in-chief of Jizhen to guard the gates of Beijing.
"There are only 50,000 people in Ji Town?"
It was especially hard for Lu Daqi to believe that this was all that was left of Jizhen, which used to be one hundred thousand strong.
"Inspection, in the Battle of Jinzhou, the soldiers and horses of Ji Town suffered heavy losses. In the 17th year of Chongzhen, Tang Tong surrendered to Chuangni, and in the Battle of Thousand Stones, the last 8,000 cavalry were gone, and there was really no one in Jizhou. .”
Xin Wencheng smiled bitterly and said: "These fifteen thousand people were sent by me after repeatedly urging the Ministry of War. Otherwise, there would only be five thousand old and weak people here, and Juyong Pass would be unguarded."
"Ruins are easy to play with."
Lu Daqi didn't expect Ji Town to be so easy. The files of the Ministry of War were not so familiar. Sure enough, he was right to choose this place as his first stop.
"All military villages will be re-measured. For those households that occupy military villages, they must either spend money to redeem their land or surrender their land. Otherwise, we will never give up."
"Yes!" Since Xin Wencheng had no interests involved, he agreed simply.
"You just paint here first, it will be easier later."
Lu Daqi said to his staff and the subordinate officials who came with him.
In a few days, the old military registers, farming, etc. were sorted out. The oldest one was in the early years of Wanli, when Qi Jiguang served as the commander-in-chief.
The number of military fields is only 100,000 acres.
"A hundred thousand troops, each with only one acre?"
Lu Daqi laughed angrily. This data was even more unbelievable than the one from the Ministry of War.
In the early Ming Dynasty, military households were granted 100 acres, 70 acres, or 50 acres according to their fatness. But in Jizhou's situation, 50 acres per capita was certainly not bad.
A rough estimate shows that the entire Ji Town has at least five million acres of military land, or 50,000 hectares, distributed in a dozen states and counties.
Ji Zhen was all on his own, and Lu Daqi did not hesitate and rushed directly to Shanhaiguan.
"try to find--"
Lu Daqi gritted his teeth and said to the group of subordinate officials: "There must be some remnants in the county annals, thousands of households, and hundreds of households, and we must find them one by one."
"The military lands occupied before the Wanli Dynasty are all required to be redeemed and taxed, and those after the Wanli Dynasty will be directly recaptured."
After occupying military villages, those lands will no longer be included in the yellow list and will naturally not need to be taxed. If they are taken away from military villages, they will inevitably be converted into civilian land and taxes will be paid.
Needless to say, eighty of them were military generals, so the data was severely damaged.
These people died well!
For the first time, Lu Daqi felt that these officers and soldiers died well, especially the generals. How much land could be regained?
By the time he arrived at Shanhaiguan, the Chinese New Year was not far away.
After more than a month of investigation, the powerless generals had to reveal 70% of the land, 30,000 hectares of military land, and the redemption amount reached 270,000 taels.
The gentry were no exception. They gave up eight thousand hectares and bought eighty thousand taels of silver.
There was such a big movement that when Lu Daqi arrived at Shanhaiguan, the commander-in-chief Zeng Ying came out of the city to greet him and was extremely polite.
But his slender beard makes even Lu Daqi envious.
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