It's more than the New Year, and the desolate ancient road of Wuding River remains the same as before.
He Renlong stopped his horse at the bend of the river for a while, then walked north, where there was yellow sand everywhere.
Human beings are an animal that learns from every experience.
Although Wu Zimian had gone to the capital to be King Qin, and He Renlong came to Yulin City again, he still did not dare to bring too many horses.
We arrived at Yulin City and entered the General Military Office. After waiting for a long time, we saw Du Wenhuan, who smelled of alcohol.
There were many generals sitting in the hall, and Du Wenhuan sat at the top. He looked no different from when he was young, at least a little less aggressive and a little more majestic.
He Renlong didn't dare to look any further and quickly bowed and saluted.
"The humble guard of Yuhe Fort congratulates Renlong and goes to see Marshal Du."
Du Wenhuan seemed drunk. He put his arms on the chair and pointed at the congratulatory dragon in the hall.
He said to the unsmiling generals on his left and right: "Oh, He Renlong is here."
He Renlong raised his head to apologize, and then heard Du Wenhuan say: "Renlong, I remember... when I was a guerrilla general, you were on the defensive, right? After so many years, why are you still on the defensive?"
Du Wenhuan became a guerrilla general in the last years of Wanli.
But that was the time when their official positions were closest. Before the Year of Tianqi, Du Wenhuan was promoted to Staff General and Deputy Commander-in-Chief. Then Ningxia Yansui took turns. If they could win, they would fight. If they couldn't win, they would plead guilty and resign. If they were to rise again, they would still be the commander-in-chief. Military officer.
And He Renlong spent year after year in the small place of Yuhe Fort, watching the yellow sand.
"Come back, Commander-in-Chief, I have humbled myself and failed to make any merit, so I am unworthy of the divine grace."
"Get up quickly, don't keep praying."
After waiting for congratulations, Renlong stood up and greeted the generals in the hall one by one.
Everyone in the hall is a guerrilla general.
"Zuo Guangxian, the guerrilla general of Zuoying."
"Youying guerrilla general Bai Bangzheng."
"Guerrilla General Cui Zongyin."
"Guerrilla General Li Guoqi."
"Guerrilla General Li Mingfu."
"Guerrilla generals help the people."
To be honest, He Renlong knew these people.
But when did Yansui Town have so many guerrilla generals, He Renlong didn't know.
Just when he was busy returning the gift, Du Wenhuan said: "Yan'an General Aimu was surrounded in Wen'anyi and asked for help from Yulin Town. Does General He know?"
"The humble position knows."
He Renlong had already made some assumptions about this matter before he came.
The cavalry soldiers who reported the news to Yulin first passed by Yuhe Fort. The news had already spread in Yuhe Fort before the news was reported to Yulin.
In fact, people in Baoli may not have had a deep impression of Liu Chengzong in the past.
Everyone is starving and they have no interest in anyone else.
But I couldn't stand hearing this name all the time, let alone having enough food. Now Liu Chengzong was well known in Yuhebao.
Everyone is familiar with what happened after he joined the army.
The annihilation of Li Bei's tribe with only half of its strength last time was shocking enough. This time, the Aimu tribe, which was close to full strength, was surrounded in Wen'anyi and beat Yulin for help.
In fact, this incident made people laugh at He Renlong behind his back.
Why did you let such a fierce servant go?
He Renlong also knew these things well, but he was also helpless. Before this, who knew Liu Chengzong was so good at fighting?
Qiu Fang pretended to kill two Tatars, didn't he just have the skills?
In addition, Liu Chengzong's most powerful talent was shooting wild geese.
He didn't show much ability either.
Yuhe Fort is not a place where you can show off your abilities.
Otherwise, He Renlong would not have wasted ten years.
"General Ai sent people from Shenmu to find me to break the siege of Wen'an Station." Du Wenhuan said: "But now that the bandits have entered Shanxi, there is no time to deal with Liu Chengzong. He used to be familiar with you."
He Renlong didn't quite understand this sentence.
It seems that the commander-in-chief of Shanxi Province should say this.
A group of bandits entered Shanxi, so the commander-in-chief of Shanxi was unable to take action.
When bandits invade Shanxi, what can Yulin's commander-in-chief not do?
He Renlong clasped his fists and said, "Come back to Commander, Liu Chengzong was indeed a humble servant."
"That's right, you send someone to tell him that catching the Yan'an guerrillas and beating him will not do any good."
Du Wenhuan pondered for a moment, then raised his head and said: "Three thousand taels, three thousand taels of silver, let him evacuate from Wen'an Station, and let the mugwort go back to Yansui."
He Renlong was stunned, three thousand taels... what is the concept of three thousand taels?
His garrison moon, heart red, and firewood added together are ten taels of silver per month.
After wasting ten years in Yuhe Fort, he only earned one thousand two hundred taels of silver.
How to make money by surrounding a general?
He Renlong wanted to take the Yuhebao brothers out to do dirty work.
But who pays for it? Yulin Town may not be able to afford it, and even if it can afford it, it won't be willing to part with it. Could it be that Mi Zhiai's family is paying three thousand taels?
Unexpectedly, Du Wenhuan said right after him: "If he has his heart set on the imperial court, your majesty and the governor are planning to suppress him and pay him ten thousand taels of silver. There is no harm in making him a general to serve the country."
He Renlong was sweating on his forehead.
The co-author asked Liu Chengzong to pay three thousand taels of silver and then let Ai Mu go.
Just now he was still thinking about how he could enter Liu Chengzong's camp.
How should you approach conversations with your former subordinates?
Is it appropriate to be more respectful, or to act like an old officer?
After hearing this, let's forget it. Even if he is killed, he will not enter Liu Chengzong's camp. If he goes with these conditions, he will not be able to get out.
He cupped his fists and said, "Commander, what should I do if he doesn't agree?"
"disagree?"
Du Wenhuan obviously has not thought about this issue.
You are a grass bandit who is just a servant. I am the commander-in-chief of Yulin Town No. 2 in Guyuan. If I send someone to appease you, will you still refuse?
Du Wenhuan couldn't find the possibility to refuse, so he turned to look at the guerrilla generals around him, and everyone laughed.
Zuo Guangxian did not laugh at He Renlong, but just cupped his fists and said: "General He, General Li was defeated by the bandit leader the previous time. General Ma Ke of his troops fled back, saying that Liu bandits would unite with more than ten thousand people to use blunderbuss, artillery and horse soldiers. Break the formation.”
"This time, General Ai's subordinates came to ask for help. They said that they had four thousand men. They had very sharp soldiers, strong armor, and many horses. They borrowed the light of the wind to come back. He must have plundered a lot of property when he returned from Shanxi. , the general is very suitable."
He Renlong thought about it, and that was indeed the truth.
Four thousand people were reported, three thousand were dispersed, and the remaining one thousand people were stationed in the local area eating military rations. It was actually quite beautiful.
At that moment, he cupped his fists and said, "Yes, I understand."
Du Wenhuan nodded and said with a smile: "Well, in that case, Du will be waiting for the general's good news in Yulin."
When He Renlong exited the lobby of the General Military Administration, he heard the laughter of the generals in the hall, and Du Wenhuanzhi's proud words asking the generals to train their troops.
"After King Qin, the troops in each department are very empty. You must hurry up and train your troops to prepare for future use."
On the way back to Yuhe Fort, He Renlong was in a state of confusion.
He has given up his routine visits to Yulin every year to ask for military pay, and he no longer asks the court to allocate money for labor and materials to repair the fortress.
Especially after seeing so many guerrilla generals in the hall.
There were some people there, such as Guan Fumin, whose father Guan Bingzhong was Du Wenhuan's old boss and the former chief military officer of Yulin.
Du Wenhuan treated him like a nephew, and He Renlong could not compare to him.
But if there are more people above him, then they must be stronger than him?
This was a humiliating meeting, but He Renlong was used to it. Every time he went to Yulin to ask for military pay for his sergeants in the past ten years, he felt far more humiliated than this time.
On the contrary, this time, his former subordinates surrounded the general in the small post city.
It actually made him feel proud and proud in his heart.
You guys who are above me are nothing more than that!
He opened a window in his mind and always wanted to do his job well and find something to do in his position. After ten years of trying, he still couldn't find anything, so he had to think of other ways.
Thinking of this, He Renlong smiled unconsciously on horseback.
He Yong, a close confidant at his side, stepped forward and asked: "The general is very happy to come out of Yulin today. Is there anything happy about the commander-in-chief?"
"Happy news, but there's no happy news yet, He Yong." He Renlong turned around and asked, "Do you dare to meet Liu Shishi?"
Meet Liu Shishi?
He Yong had the same reaction as He Renlong who was at the General Military Office some time ago, numb.
Seeing him like this, He Renlong couldn't help but laugh and paused for a moment before saying: "You and Liu Shishi were quite familiar in the past. Go and meet him. Marshal Du wants him to pay three thousand taels of silver and withdraw from the army. See if he is willing." Not willing."
Before He Yong could react from his stupor, He Renlong said again: "Whether you like it or not, this is a matter for the court. Now Liu Shishi is also a commander-in-chief. Don't argue with him, let alone threaten him."
"Just bring me a message, otherwise you may not be able to come back alive."
After hearing what he said, He Yong felt a little relaxed. If he just said this, he felt that it would not be so dangerous.
After all, in the past, when Liu Chengzong went out hunting, he would return anything he could use except the meat required by the government, and he never ate his prey.
Ordinarily, there is no personal grudge between the two of them.
He Yong took a deep breath and said, "Okay, then I'll prepare to set off when I get back. He is currently surrounding General Ai Shen at Wen'an Station, so it's easy to find him."
"Yes, you need to meet him."
He Renlong searched around, and sadly took out three taels of silver from his arms and handed them to He Yong: "You can take these with you on the way, and then...and this."
There really wasn't anything good left on him. He looked left and right, but couldn't find anything he could take out.
Finally, He Renlong took off his saber, handed it to He Yong from his horse, and said, "Take this knife and give it to Liu Shishi as a meeting gift."
"Here, general, this was from the year you passed the martial arts exam, right?"
He Yong didn't dare to take it. He was deeply impressed by this knife. The patterned steel ball-bearing Yanling knife made from iron from the Western Regions was the best knife he had ever seen in his life.
He once played with it when he was taking a knife for He Renlong, and secretly took it out of the scabbard twice. It felt very comfortable in his hand.
He said: "General, do you want this knife to be given to Liu Shizi?"
"All Fish River Keep knows I like this knife."
Seeing that He Yong didn't answer, He Renlong's determination disappeared from his face. He took out the knife and took another look. He was finally filled with reluctance, but he gritted his teeth and closed it again.
"This knife has been with me for more than ten years, and it has only been stained with blood once. It was when I killed a brother who was running away several years ago, and it didn't accomplish anything."
He patted his round belly and said with a ruthless look on his face: "You're just like me, well-maintained and fat. What's the use of it? Take it!"
The sword was forced into He Yong's hand. He Renlong said: "You have another thing to do when you go this time. Bring a few more people with you. They must be Mizhi's old brothers. Ask around for people who have gone out of Yuhe Fort." Brothers, as well as the descendants of Mizhi Luocao, please meet me."
"If you can drink and eat meat, let's talk; if you can communicate with each other, let's get some air." He Renlong warned: "It's best to find those thieves' camp and leave a brother to play in the camp."
He Yong was stunned when he was told that he paused and then stammered: "General, is this a traitor?"
"Then it's a thief. Do you know who Du Wenhuan is? Do you know what his first words were when he saw me today?"
He Renlong didn't look at He Yong. He rode straight ahead, half a horse's head forward.
He Yong could only look at his back and hear the voice: "There are a group of guerrilla generals standing in the official office. Two of them were recommended by Yulin. One of them is a general and has no military qualifications. They are all young boys."
"When he met me today and talked about the past, the first sentence he said was that when he was a guerrilla general, I was on the defensive. When he saw me today, I was still on the defensive. Those kids were laughing."
"How funny? More than ten years have passed, and it has been ten years since his uncle Jun Song died. His son is now the chief military officer of Ningxia. I congratulate Renlong! He Renlong is still on the defensive."
He Yong was speechless and could only follow He Renlong's pace.
After walking forward for more than ten steps, He Renlong turned his head calmly: "Brother, what have we been doing these past ten years?"
He Renlong's words were like a big stick, hitting He Yong hard on the head.
That year, He Renlong passed the martial arts examination.
He Yong was working as a long-term worker in the Chang family's courtyard. His mother, carrying a basket of eggs, couldn't help but drag him out of the Chang's courtyard and hand him over to He Renlong's hand.
On the way, his mother asked him, do you want to be a long-term worker for the rest of your life?
What's wrong with being a long-term worker all your life? You don't have to pay taxes, not to mention the Chang family's cook is so pretty.
But my mother said that a cook would not marry a long-term worker, and that the man next door, Brother Long, had passed the martial arts examination and was going to become a general.
Let him go to the battlefield to block Brother Long's arrows and knives, and act like a horse.
In the future, I will continue to make meritorious deeds and risk my life to reach heaven.
He looked at his mother's chapped hands, thought of the Chang family's little cook, and nodded heavily.
Chickens and dogs ascend to heaven.
From that day on, he followed He Renlongan to Yuhe Fort to practice martial arts and soldiers.
In the second year of Tianqi's reign, he defended the fort and shot two Tatars to death. They failed to attack and their bodies were taken away by the Tatars.
The armor-piercing suit blocked three arrows for He Renlong at the top of the city. The armor inside the cloth armor was older than his father, and it was all rusty.
Ancestors bless you and save your life.
From that year on, he was the head servant of Brother Renlong.
It was also from that year that the court began to withhold payment.
My mother got tuberculosis before the chickens and dogs could ascend to heaven, and the little cook got married early.
After so many years, He Renlong suddenly asked what their brothers had done over the years.
He Yong doesn't know, he really doesn't know.
For several years, they had worked hard to save the hundreds of mouths in Yuhe Fort and tried all the methods. But this matter was just like the mother's tuberculosis that cannot be cured or the cook who cannot be prevented from getting married. There is really no way.
In his hazy memories, he heard He Renlong say: "Get this done, we have to leave Yuhe Fort and find a way to go up."
He Yong didn't say anything. He didn't want to worry about whether he was a thief or not.
Just nodded heavily.
Chickens and dogs ascend to heaven!
-
Note:
Deputy generals Yue Lin, Xin Hong, Chai Xin, etc. receive thirty-two taels of silver; participating generals receive twenty-six taels of silver; guerrillas twenty-two taels; and generals 16 taels of silver. Those with additional titles will be reduced by one rank, and the current garrison officer will receive ten taels of silver per month; In each battalion, the military monthly allowance is 8 taels; the total monthly allowance for a thousand is 6 taels; the total monthly allowance for a gun is 4 taels; the total monthly allowance for a hundred is 2 taels and 4 cents; and the monthly allowance for a team leader is 1 tael and eight cents.
- "Du Zhi Memorial·New Rate Division"
