August 13th of the sixth year of Chongzhen.
In Pingrong Township, east of Xining, the fields near Pingrong Mayi are covered with golden fields. On a country road, a young man is walking slowly on a large Guanzhong donkey with black fur.
He was born strong and powerful. He wore a black scarf on his head, a pair of black cotton trousers and a short jacket with earth-colored horizontal seams. His legs were tied with indigo-dyed turbans, and he wore a pair of cowhide boots. He had a knife on his waist. The donkey also carried two large bags of luggage and bows and arrows on its back.
There has been no shortage of people wearing this kind of attire in the Hehuang area recently. Their cotton jackets and cotton trousers are all stitched with hard leather on the front, back, knees and elbows. They walk with a military atmosphere. No one dares to mess with such people, because They were soldiers from the Shuai Mansion who had just finished fighting the Mongols in Hexi.
The young man walked along the country road until he entered a village. At the fork in the village, there was a half-man-high bluestone, with three characters carved in ink on the stone - Xiatubao.
It was almost dusk, and under the setting sun, the farmers in the countryside were pushing carts full of grain to the countryside. People were beaming with joy.
The men were sweating profusely and their clothes were wet from the collar on the back of their neck to their waists. The strong women were carrying sickles and food boxes, and the dirty children who were playing in the fields were running around the car with wooden guns, chasing them all over the place. little lamb.
When people see young people, they will inevitably say hello with a happy face and ask about the situation of young people of the same race.
Everyone was very happy when the food was loaded without any disaster. However, after walking only a mile, he had to drink with his neighbors three times.
Outside the Sanjin mansion with the plaque of the Pingrong Township Security Office, loaded grain trucks blocked the rammed earth avenue, and the mature grains covered the drying ground with a golden color.
The young man looked thoughtfully from a distance, as if he was reminiscing. It was not until he heard the sound of Zhuang Shang's child reading aloud from the rural care center that he shook his head, smiled, and continued to lead the donkey toward his home.
This place used to be called Wangjiazhuang. There were over a thousand people in the two bureaus with the surname Wang. The eight surrounding bureaus all had property belonging to the Wang family. Their ancestors were uncle Wangyou of Qingyuan, and hereditary Xining guards commanded the Qianshi. This generation has a general. The soldier's name is Wang Cheng'en.
Nearly half of the descendants of Zhuang Shang followed General Wang in the army and worked as servants, and they produced more than a dozen military attachés with more than 100 generals.
The young man's name is Wang Jinzhong, and he is no exception. He used to be Wang Chengen's servant, but now he has changed his family with the general and has become a soldier in the Huben Camp of the Marshal's Mansion.
After walking along the mountain road in the southernmost part of Xiatubao for a while, Wang Jinzhong saw several dilapidated loess courtyards, with a crooked-necked tree sticking out from the side of the earthen wall. As he approached his house, his steps were faster and faster.
Through the half-height wooden gate of the courtyard, he saw his father feeding in the newly built cowshed with his hunched back. He immediately pushed open the courtyard door, stepped forward, knelt on the ground, and kowtowed respectfully.
"Da, I'm back!"
The old father turned around and said with joy: "Ah, Zhongba is back!"
After kowtowing, Wang Jinzhong raised his head and took a closer look. The smile on his face instantly froze, and he almost lost his breath.
His father was not feeding the cows here. He was holding a wine pot in one hand and an earthenware wine bowl in the other, and was feeding the old cow wine in a drunken state.
Even though he was kneeling on the ground, Wang Jinzhong was confident when he asked his father: "Da, why are you collecting grain when others are collecting it, but you don't collect the grain even if you have a cow, and you give the cow wine? What if you drink it to death?"
The old father didn't take it seriously. He happily put down the wine pot and wine bowl, walked over and picked up Wang Jinzhong and said, "Hey, why don't we collect food? The village knows that you are fighting for the handsome man. We don't have any strong laborers at home, so we have sent him a long time ago." The three young men helped our family collect the grain."
As he spoke, he pointed to the yellow mud house, and the joy on his face could not be more obvious: "Eighteen acres of grain land, I returned the 200 kilograms of grain rations that I borrowed from my hometown to guarantee, and filled six large grain tanks! "
After the old father said this, he smiled and said: "You think you drink every day when you are old? You went to war for more than half a year and you didn't get two letters. You don't have money to buy wine when you are old, so you only have food to drink. Get up quickly." , let me see if you were injured in the battle with the Tatars?"
After Wang Jinzhong heard this, he stood up with a face full of joy, turned around and said with a smile: "It's okay, we in the Huben camp are all following the commander, but he shot an arrow in the chest from the Tatars, which broke a piece of skin. It has scabbed and is no problem. "
After hearing what his son said, Father Wang noticed that there was a prismatic arrow hole pierced diagonally in the hard leather breast protector of Wang Jinzhong's cotton-padded jacket.
Wangjiazhuang has produced generals for generations. Even though Mr. Wang has never served in the military, he still has some knowledge of military affairs. When he saw this arrow hole, he couldn't help but exclaimed in surprise: "Ah, a penetrating armor cone!"
This made him couldn't help but said angrily: "I heard people say that General Ma you are following is a coward. Hundreds of people attack others' thousands!"
After saying that, he turned his anger into joy and patted the cotton-padded jacket on Wang Jinzhong's chest: "This leather is quite hard and can block the armor-piercing awl. It's amazing!"
"How can a piece of leather stop us? We still have cloth armor outside. Don't worry, the commander treats us well. If the armor pieces are broken or missing, they will be replaced. However, when you come back from vacation, the armor and war horses will remain in the army." I let you take it home, but if you don’t let me, I can let you see it. I was hit by seven arrows and two knives in total, and all eight of them can only leave a mark."
Wang Jinzhong smiled and patted the hard-leather chest protector: "This arrow pierced through the slit in the armor, but without this piece of leather, it would probably have pierced a hole in the chest... Oops!"
As he spoke, he was almost led into the house by his father, then he remembered that his donkey was outside, and ran out quickly. Fortunately, the donkey didn't run around, so he quickly led it into the yard, startling his father, and asked: "How do you carry it?" Come back with all these things?"
"I bought it, and it's only a five-day holiday. I have to go back to camp after the Mid-Autumn Festival, and I guess I won't come back until the Chinese New Year."
Wang Jinzhong carried two big bags, one in each hand, and did not put them into the house. He placed them on the stone mill in the yard, opened them, and said, "It's getting cold now, so bring some new clothes to show respect."
As he said that, he first took out a small money bag from his body and handed it to his father: "My son has done meritorious service by beating up the Tatars. I will be rewarded with thirty taels of silver. I will keep ten taels for my use. Here is the twenty taels. You can take it and save money." "
"I have nothing to spend on. This year's business is good. Our family has land, cows and sheep, so you don't need to worry about it."
Yo ho!
Wang Jinzhong opened his mouth when he heard this but said nothing.
In the old Wangjiazhuang, his elder was the most famous lazy man in the whole village. He relied on him as a soldier to eat and drink and send some salary home. When no salary was paid, he always relied on General Wang's family to donate some food every year. When Have you ever heard him say that he doesn’t need to worry about the family?
He smiled and said, "You don't have to worry about it. Anyway, keep this money and save money. It will be fine this year, but maybe not next year."
"When will we not be able to cross Hehuang?"
After Wang Wang said this, Wang Jinzhong also smiled and said: "Our team is all soldiers from northern Shaanxi, and I am only from Xining. They keep telling me that God wants to recruit people all day long. Anyway, they are prepared and I don't have to worry about it in the army." , the commander-in-chief takes care of my clothes and my food."
After that, he took out a pair of thick cotton jacket and cotton trousers and a pair of brand new straight-seam cowhide boots, unfolded them and compared them with his father: "Well, when the weather gets cold, you can change into these, and these boots, too. They are issued by the handsome manor. I will wear one and you will wear another. They are all new cotton and warm. I will exchange them with others. You can try to see if they fit your feet."
"ah!"
Father Wang fell in love with the boots when he saw them, but he didn't pick them up. He said with a troubled expression, "Common people can't wear these boots. Can you let me, Commander?"
Wang Jinzhong was also in trouble and muttered, "Shall I take it back?" Then he shook his head and said, "It should be fine. I've never heard that Shuai Mansion doesn't allow people to wear boots, so just leave them at home. If you see others wearing them, just wear them. If someone comes to the house, tell them about mine." , it shouldn’t be difficult for anyone.”
Then with a smile on his face, he took out a small package from the package, held it carefully to his father, and said, "Open it and see what kind of clothes this is."
When Father Wang took the package, he felt it was quite heavy, perhaps weighing four kilograms, and wondered to himself what kind of clothes it was.
When you open it, you will see that it is a blue half-sleeved double-breasted armor. The armor skirt that covers the calf has trains on the left and right sides and at the back. There are two inches of red and blue tassels hanging from the bottom. This is a very common military uniform.
As early as the time of Emperor Taizu, there was a rule that anyone except cavalry who wore such clothes would be punished.
The difference between this piece of armor is that it is made of wool, heavy and thick. There are two cloth inscriptions sewn on the left and right sides of the placket. On the left side, it says Zuo Division of Huben Camp Zuoqian Headquarters; on the right side it says Former Hundred General Zuo Brigade Sanshi. , brave leader Wang Jinzhong.
Wangjiazhuang has always had its own clan culture. There are no children in the clan who are illiterate. Even the lazy ones have read books. However, Father Wang did not know the word "Ben" and just said in surprise: "Sir, have you been promoted?"
"We are twelve soldiers with four commanders. We are not high-ranking officers. However, these woolen armors are of a very long length to keep out the cold. My cotton armor is quite good. You should keep it and wear it."
Wang Jinzhong then took out a bunch of bits and pieces from the package in different ways, such as paper-wrapped Shuaifu jerky, salted fish from the Navy Yamen, and horse kumiss brewed by Longju Garden, and brought them all back to his father to try.
There was also a croissant wine flask seized from the Wala nobles, which made Mr. Wang grin from ear to ear. He quickly said that he would ask his neighbor for two eggs to stir-fry and fry some vegetables. The father and son would have a good meal.
Wang Jinzhong also happily walked around his home to see the changes brought about by the Shuai Mansion after it took over Hehuang.
In fact, it seems that the changes are not big at present. Even because Wang Chengen's family was forced to move to Xining, the village lost the backbone of the past, and it even felt that his hometown lacked some prestige.
But for their family, the good changes were very real. They built a cowshed and a sheepfold, with one cow, six sheep, and even two pigs.
It can't be said that I didn't dare to think about this in the past, but the prerequisite for thinking of this was that he became an officer, at least worked in the team for a few years, bought dozens of acres of land, and hired a long-term worker before he could consider raising pigs.
Pigs are different from sheep. Sheep are full when they roam outside, but pigs have to be in a pen to grow meat, and they cannot live without farming.
For example, his family used to have no land, and his father would herd sheep for others. If he had a success and the court would reward him with silver, it wouldn't be a big problem to raise a few sheep, but without land, he couldn't raise pigs.
Now that their family has land, they have naturally raised pigs, and they may be able to build him a house in the future... Wang Jinzhong shook his head. He had something to discuss with his father when he came back this time.
Not long after, Dad had fried fragrant scrambled eggs with chive flower sauce and some freshly harvested broad beans. Wang Jinzhong also took off his military uniform, and the father and son poured in the mare's milk wine brewed by Longjuyuan and enjoyed it with relish. Started drinking.
After two sips, Father Wang couldn't hide the joy on his face. He held the wine bowl and said with emotion: "Don't think that your commander-in-chief is a gangster. He doesn't steal or rob wherever he goes, and he got a promotion for you. Let our family have a bright future, Zhongba, you have to follow the commander and work hard!"
"Yes, Da. I came back this time just to see how things are going at home. I feel relieved to see that the village is taking good care of our family."
Wang Jinzhong also picked up the wine bowl. Drinking was not allowed in the army, not to mention that he had wasted his livelihood because of his father's alcoholism and had never liked drinking. He hurriedly took a bite of the food after such a spicy drink.
But the chive flower sauce is also spicy, and it gets even spicier when you eat it.
After calming down, he put down the wine bowl and said, "Da, I want to go out for a few years."
"How many years?" Dad Wang just took a big sip and almost choked. He put down the wine bowl and asked, "You are fine in the handsome man's house, where are you going to go?"
Wang Jinzhong knew that his father would react this way when he heard what he said. He lowered his head for a moment, then raised his head again and said, "Tianshan."
"where?"
Father Wang noticed that something was wrong. He frowned and moved a broken stool to the side and sat down. He stretched out the legs of his torn cotton trousers, crossed his legs, put one arm on the dining table, and asked with a serious expression: "Tianshan, what kind of mountain is it?"
Xining's military affairs focus on guarding against pirates, and pirates were not really banned until Liu Chengzong entered the sea. Therefore, Xining's army has rarely been deployed far away. The people of Wangjiabao, who have followed generations of generals and served in the army, have never known where the Tianshan Mountains are.
"Northwest, the hometown of the Oara Tatars. Many leaders of the Oara Tatars can save their lives this time because they surrendered to the commander-in-chief. The commander-in-chief will station troops in the Tianshan Mountains. They will set off next year and guard the border for about three years..."
"Don't go!"
Before Wang Jinzhong could finish his words, Mr. Wang had already refused: "You can't go, Zhongwa. I'm the only son of yours. If you die in Xining, I can collect your body. If you die in such a place, The Tartars are such a hellish place, even if I cry to Potian, I won’t be able to collect your corpse!”
Wang Jinzhong took a deep breath, but ignored his father's refusal, and just continued: "For three to five years of guarding the border, the army has to select 300 officers from among the veterans. The generals all said that the soldiers in northern Shaanxi are unwilling to go westward and have to go from the river. Choose from Huang veterans and learn Mongolian and Rakshasa in Xincheng for half a year."
"I learned Mongolian from Marshal Wang's army. General Ma said that those who are willing to go can be promoted to the first level before setting off. After three years of guarding the border in Tianshan without meritorious service, they will be promoted to the next level when they return. If they are meritorious, they will be rewarded. upgrade."
"People say that they should have endured hardship in the past. The commander-in-chief is already preparing thicker clothes for the border troops."
Wang Jinzhong pursed his lips, gritted his teeth slowly, and looked at his father and said: "Sir, I am now a first-class tiger warrior and a senior official, with a monthly salary of seven coins and a monthly grain of seven dou, with tea, oil, sauce, and dried meat. , dried fish, in charge of twelve soldiers."
"I was born in the army and did not go to Tianshan. After half a year, I became a third-class knight and was transferred to the five towns of Hehuang to serve as a member of the people's strong management team for one year, with a monthly salary of one tael and a monthly ration of one stone. After another year, I was transferred back to the Caiguan Camp to work If you are a senior officer, your food and salary will be increased by two cents. In three years, you will be appointed as the commander-in-chief of the rural soldiers in the fifth town of Hehuang."
"Isn't that good?"
Father Wang stared and spread his hands. He thought that his son's thoughts were quite wild. In the past, his highest hope for his son was to become a member of a hundred households in Xiningwei.
Unexpectedly, Wang Jinzhong shook his head: "If we go to Tianshan, we will learn language in Xincheng for half a year and directly upgrade to the first level. We will form a new Tianshan military management team. We, three hundred officers, will lead troops to guard the border for three to five years. As long as we come back alive, the handsome man will protect his background. "
"What's your origin?"
Wang Jinzhong swallowed his saliva, his eyes blazing: "The honorary officer Yunqi Lieutenant, the fifth rank Xuanwu Colonel Lieutenant, the deputy commander-in-chief of the fifth town of Hehuang, the commander-in-chief of the Caiguan camp, and the deputy commander-general of the field battalion are all missing. We will fill them. , those are all real military attachés.”
－－－－－－Digression－－－－－
Good evening!
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