In December, the ice and snow drifted.
No matter how precarious the world is, you can still feel a different kind of prosperity near the city of Beijing at the feet of the Emperor.
At least in the current winter of the seventh year of the Apocalypse, there is still peace and prosperity outside Beijing.
On both sides of the official road from Tongzhou to Chaoyang Gate in the east of Beijing, there are shops, restaurants and warehouses, which are almost the same as the scenes in Beijing. This official road is the "golden channel" of Beijing. Every year, millions of stones of grain and other items transported through the Grand Canal have to be unloaded at Tongzhou Wharf. From Tongzhou to Beijing, you have to take the official road outside Chaoyangmen. If officials entering and leaving Beijing want to take the canal to the southeast, they have to go to Tongzhou through Chaoyangmen.
Over time, the twenty-mile official road from Chaoyangmen to Tongzhou became more and more prosperous and lively. Even in the dead of winter, there is still a constant flow of cars and horses coming and going on the road, creating a vibrant scene.
A group of soldiers wearing red narrow-sleeved military uniforms with double-breasted armor and flying saucer hats on their heads. They all carried waist knives, spears, and bows and arrows on their backs. They formed a team and marched toward the Chaoyang Gate in a swagger. Behind them was a group of carriages and horses, including more than a dozen carriages with many large boxes bundled in them, several caravans filled with people, and men wearing traveling gear and riding horses.
People who were making a living on the official road outside Chaoyang Gate knew which frontier commander had come to the capital when they saw these soldiers and horses. If you look at the heavy carriages again, you will know that there are many gifts... However, this frontier commander is a bit low-key. He does not let anyone play his official title card or blow the gong to clear the way. He seems to just want to be quiet. Enter the city. The more low-key the border commanders and ministers are, the more powerful they are, and they might become the overlords with heavy troops.
Nowadays, the situation of the court is undergoing drastic changes, and the turmoil is suddenly rising, and it is inevitable that the generals far away will be involved. This person who was summoned to Beijing by an edict at this sensitive moment must of course kowtow more, give more gifts, and cause less trouble...
The person who came here was none other than someone who was very controversial in later generations. One moment he was regarded as the Optimus Prime of the Ming Dynasty, and the other moment he was said to be the Mao Shuai of Dongjiang who deserved to lose his head. He was honored as the Commander-in-Chief of Pingliao, bestowed upon Shang Fang with a sword, and was granted the title of Commander-in-Chief. Mao Wenlong, the governor of the left.
From the reign of Tianqi to the early years of Chongzhen, this Dongjiang Mao Shuai was a very different kind of frontman. He did not follow the normal promotion path and climbed one level at a time to the position of chief military officer of a town. But when Guangning was defeated, Liaodong fell, and the Ming Dynasty's power in Liaodong collapsed, he took a small team of one or two hundred Ming troops to sneak attack behind the Donglu by sea, broke through Zhenjiang City, and killed many who stayed behind. The Donglu officers and soldiers also continued to recruit the Liaodong Han'er and the remnants of the Liao army who were unwilling to be ruled by the Donglu, and raised their own troops. Later, they borrowed an isolated island on the sea from the Koreans as a base, and occupied many areas. On the islands off the coast of the Liaodong Peninsula, he opened up a Dongjiang Town and became the general military officer.
In other words, Mao Wenlong fought his own territory and pulled up his troops... Other frontier commanders also raised some servants as eagle and dog minions, while he, Mao Wenlong, owned the entire Dongjiang Army!
Other frontier commanders were watched by a group of civil servants and eunuchs, and who could restrain him, Mao Wenlong? There are no prefectures or counties on the Dongjiang River side! Although Governor Denglai controlled Mao Wenlong's salary, Mao Wenlong's men were said to have 200,000 men, but in fact there were nearly 30,000 soldiers and generals. With the more than 300,000 taels of silver and 200,000 shi of grain actually issued to him by the court, he could no longer rely on him. Can't even afford it.
Sea trade between Ming Dynasty and North Korea is Dongjiang Maoshuai’s main source of wealth!
So this Dongjiang Mao Shuai has soldiers, land, and financial resources... and he is still alone overseas. He is a warlord and a hero in troubled times!
Such a person, at a time of drastic changes in the court situation, would certainly be frightened when he received the order to go to Beijing to meet the emperor.
Therefore, he did not go to Beijing immediately. Instead, he took thousands of soldiers to Lushun by water and then sent people to Denglai to inquire about the news. After learning that his old superior Yuan Keli had also been summoned to Beijing by the new emperor Zhu Youjian and seemed to be of great use, he felt relieved and took a boat to Tianjin Wei. After waiting in Tianjin for more than ten days, he waited until Yuan Keli, who had slowly traveled north from Henan, arrived. Then he shamelessly greeted him and gave him a big gift before entering Beijing together.
Looking at the tall and majestic Chaoyang Gate ahead, under the sunlight, it exudes an aura of majesty that cannot be offended.
Mao Wenlong, who is 52 years old this year, has been tanned due to living on the island all year round. With a big beard and a big beard, Mao Wenlong looks a bit fierce, but he still feels a little uneasy.
While he was waiting for Yuan Keli in Tianjin, he heard a lot about how to kill decisively today!
I also heard about Jinshang’s method of ransacking homes and selling indulgences to make money!
I even heard that Jinshang has set up a tent front army, and sent people to recruit brave warriors who are good at riding and shooting from the northwest army - no matter what your previous status was, as long as you are selected as a tent knight, you will be able to do it immediately Allocated 500 acres of Kinki land as a job field!
Not to mention the treatment of ordinary soldiers, even the most trusted servants of the Marshal of Bian Town cannot compare with this treatment!
If this treatment is true, it is indeed enough. As long as the people below are capable enough, the emperor will soon have 10,000 servants!
Mao Wenlong, who has been in the army for many years, certainly knows the power of 10,000 horseback servants.
I remember that when Li Chengliang dominated Liaodong, he only had less than 5,000 servants on hand... Don't think that Li Chengliang's 5,000 servants are so powerful. They are also people with two hands and two legs. As long as the Holy One can really provide adequate treatment and equipment, and have capable people to strictly supervise them, his 10,000 servants will be able to train them in less than three years.
At that time, can a military leader like me, a separatist leader, still have a good life?
Yuan Keli, who was riding beside Mao Wenlong, was already an old man in his 60s. After working as an official for decades, he became very angry, and his family was very rich, so he simply resigned and returned to his hometown to enjoy a happy life... So he received the imperial edict from Zhu Youjian to call him back. At that time, Yuan Keli did not set off northward, but asked to resign.
But how could Zhu Youjian let him go so easily?
Zhu Youjian also wanted him to be Governor Yuan!
Yuan Chonghuan can no longer be the governor, but Yuan Keli must work for Zhu Youjian!
It's not because of anything else, but because at the moment only Yuan Keli can cooperate with Mao Wenlong, a big thorn... So Zhu Youjian wants Yuan Keli to be the governor and in charge of military affairs in Liaodong, North Korea. Let him cover Mao Wenlong and smooth things over in Liaonan.
Therefore, after Yuan Keli resigned for the first time, Zhu Youjian issued several decrees in succession, with sincere words, asking him to go out and serve the country.
Being forced to do nothing by the emperor, Yuan Keli could only go north to Shuntian and then serve the Ming court.
Now seeing the melancholy expression on Mao Wenlong's face, Yuan Keli felt a little happy... This Mao Wenlong had made him suffer a lot in the past!
"Zhennan," Yuan Keli stroked his white beard and said with a smile, "The Holy Father said in his decree to me that I should be the governor of Liaodong and take care of everything in Denglai.
The Holy One is not interested in this old man, but clearly in Zhennan, so you can rest assured. "
Mao Wenlong smiled bitterly, "The general's possessions on Pi Island are really not worth much. If it weren't for a group of children, I would have resigned long ago..."
While he was talking, Mao Wenlong suddenly heard the sound of galloping horse hooves, which startled him. This was a conditioned reflex. When he was fighting with the Tatars in front of the Liaodong Army, he heard the thunderous sound of hooves and was right. Nothing good happens!
He turned around and looked at the sound, and saw an unknown number of cavalry not far from the south of the official road, in groups of dozens, galloping back and forth on a flat land covered with ice and snow.
This must be training, right? '
It's such a cold weather, it's almost the New Year, and we're still training... These people can't be soldiers from the Beijing camp, right? Could it be the legendary servant of the emperor?
