According to the previous agreement, the food and grass for Tian Jianxiu's 3,000 soldiers and horses were provided by the imperial court. Note that only the food and grass supplies were provided, and Li Chuang was still responsible for payment and other matters. But to be honest, the imperial court did not even want to take the food and grass, but after all If you use other people's soldiers and don't pay for it, you'll have to give them something to eat.
However, the imperial court was also in short supply of food and grass, so Chang Yu finally made the decision and supplied supplies along the way.
In other words, go wherever you go.
As mentioned earlier, when soldiers and horses cross the border to ask for supplies, it all depends on whether the people in the city give them face. Giving you gruel is a favor, and not giving it to you is a duty.
But now that the harvest in the north has been lost, the landlords don't have much leftover food, and no one is willing to give it away, let alone supply Li Chuang's troops.
But this time, I can't give it or not. This is the order given by the eunuch of Dongchang!
Although there is no Grand Marshal of Soldiers and Horses nowadays, the Great Eunuch is equivalent to the Grand Marshal of Soldiers and Horses of the World. No matter how much you dislike him, you have to listen to his words. Whoever disobeys will be punished.
Only then did Arita see Hidebe begging for food all the way from the Yellow River to the seaside, but he was not hungry at all.
Yes, it's just that I'm not hungry.
In the towns along the way, the landowners also provided supplies, but what they provided and how much they provided depended on their mood. Anyway, no one would give the delicacies to beggars, and they would just be leftovers and rotten rice.
It wasn't until he arrived at Dengzhou Prefecture that Tian Jianxiubu saw meat.
When he first arrived at Tengzhou Prefecture, the person who greeted Tian Jianxiube was Zheng Hongkui. That night, a large banquet was held for him, which surprised and delighted everyone in Tianbei. Many of them didn't know why they looked at each other with blank eyes all the way to the end of the field. Zheng Hongkui is so enthusiastic.
Tian Jianxiu cleared up doubts for his subordinates: they have the same origin and feel the same way.
The Zheng family was a great pirate, and they were land rebels. They both belonged to the Green Forest Road, and they were looked down upon even after they surrendered.
Green forest in the world is one family.
Treating guests requires big fish and meat. Although there is not much meat, there is enough fish. Because this place is close to the sea, the most indispensable thing is fish. Maybe the locals are tired of eating it, but for inland soldiers and horses who don’t know the taste of meat in March , this is the delicious food unparalleled in the world.
Compared with Zheng Zhilong's Navy Chief and Zheng Zhibao's Deputy Chief, Zheng Hongkui's official position is not big. Although he is stationed in Penglai Water City to train sailors, in fact this place is only a naval camp, and he is just a small naval guerrilla. General.
Don’t dismiss the village chief as an official. Although he is just a guerrilla, Zheng Hongkui is still the top leader of the Dengzhou navy. Even the governor of Dengzhou (also called the governor of Denglai) Zeng Hualong has to give him some face. There are many reasons. Simple, Zheng Hongkui's background is too big. In addition to the Zheng family behind him, he was also appointed by the eunuch to rebuild the navy in Dengzhou.
Therefore, Zeng Hualong helped a lot in preparing to build the navy. During this period, the two gradually became friends. Therefore, when Tian Jianxiubu arrived in Dengzhou, outsiders thought it was the imperial court increasing troops for coastal defense, but Zeng Hualong But he also learned from Zheng Hongkui that this was a secret move, called to increase troops and expand the navy, but in fact it was a secret way to invade North Korea.
Although Zeng Hualong didn't know the imperial court's intention of using troops, he also knew the importance of the matter. However, the most troublesome thing was the supply of food and grass for these three thousand soldiers and horses. Although Dengzhou was not affected by the war, it was a barren land, and the official warehouse There was very little left, and there were three thousand mouths to eat and drink, and the pressure suddenly increased. It would be fine if they could eat for a day or two, but this army and horses could not just come and leave. They would have to stay for ten and a half months at least, not even eating. It’s not a small amount.
But in the end he came up with a way to replace grain with salted fish.
The so-called people rely on mountains to eat and water to eat. On the coast of Dengzhou, fishermen usually pickle and dry their catches as food preparations if they can't finish them all. But these soldiers from the inland are curious about this stuff...
So three meals a day were porridge, salted fish and steamed buns, stewed fish, grilled fish and fish soup. The soldiers were very happy to have meat every meal, and the daily expenditure of the yamen was very small, so they killed two birds with one stone.
Now, Zeng Hualong was thinking about sending them away quickly. A missed meal would be a meal. Once they were sent away, it would have nothing to do with him even if they went to North Korea to drink from the northwest wind.
It's just that no matter how hard he tries, he can't escape the eunuch's plan.
Zheng Hongkui quietly told Zeng Hualong that the chief eunuch had a secret order. This group of people should prepare enough dry food for half a month before leaving the country!
Zeng Hualong was furious and stood up: "I am a fat man when I go to the state. If I don't pay a penny to get the card, I will report it to the court." However, Zheng Hongkui persuaded him: "This matter is secret, don't talk nonsense. If If something goes wrong, I'm afraid the consequences will be disastrous, and it's never too late to deal with it after it's over."
It means that the imperial court is sending troops into Korea. It is a secret matter. It is said that only a few people in the imperial court know about it. Your shouting has made everyone in the government and the public know it. That is a leak. If something goes wrong, the emperor will not be able to confiscate your house and destroy it in anger. Your clan.
In desperation, Zeng Hualong had to endure it for now.
As for why the imperial court did not allocate grain and grass but asked the local government to provide it, Chang Yu also considered this matter carefully. First of all, the imperial court did not allocate extra grain and grass. It would be good to be able to cope with the famine that may break out this year. Secondly, Youdao was too thin to die. A camel is bigger than a horse. In the late Ming Dynasty, many places were far richer than the central government. Although Dengzhou Prefecture is a barren land, it has not suffered any natural or man-made disasters in recent years. It is true that you say it is not rich, but it is definitely It’s not like they can’t even get food and supplies for three thousand people.
As for local officials who like to call people poor, that is an unspoken rule.
As the old saying goes, those who cry will be rewarded with milk.
Two flowers bloom, one on each side
When Tian Jianxiubu was training in Penglai Water City and preparing to cross the sea to the east, Chang Yu led two guards under his command to leave the capital and go to the outside of the pass. After leaving the capital, they were like wild dogs out of their cages. They galloped along the way and ran away by nightfall. They arrived in Shunyi County dozens of miles away.
The team camped by the Chaobai River. It had only been ten days since the last time they camped in the wild. However, the hundreds of miles apart seemed like two different worlds. It was very cold in the wild after dark. As a mobile unit, the two guards had very little equipment. There were also very few tents, and most of the soldiers could only sleep in the open air with their clothes on.
Many bonfires were lit in the camp, and the soldiers in winter clothes lay in the hay and warmed themselves up. Although they were not as comfortable as in the tents, they were not so gritty that they couldn't bear it. But they also knew that this was just an appetizer. The real beginning is when we enter the ice and snow.
Chang Yu doesn't have to sleep in a tent because he has a car.
Next to the bonfire, Chang Yu was roasting a hare. Li Muxian, Tu Yuan and Ji Jike were sitting around, chatting while waiting to eat the roasted rabbit. At this time, a soldier on guard came to report, saying A Taoist priest and a middle-aged man asked to see him.
Who is so bold and dares to come to the army camp in the middle of the night to strike up a conversation? Li Muxian and others were surprised, but Chang Yu waved his hand expressionlessly: "Bring them here."
The two people were soon brought forward, and Li Muxian and the other three were shocked and their jaws dropped: How could it be them...
