At the end of February in the third year of Dajin Tiancong, Shenyang City.
This capital of the Great Jin Kingdom is now just like an unfinished project that was half-finished before the boss ran away. You can see construction sites everywhere that were half-finished and then stopped.
The expansion project of Shenyang City was started after Huang Taiji came to power. Shenyang City, which was selected by Nurhachi as his home base, was originally the acropolis of Shenyang Zhongwei in the Ming Dynasty. It occupied a small area and the castle was not strong. It was also severely damaged due to the ravages of war. When Nurhaci established his capital at this time, almost all of Shenyang Zhongwei's city wall was destroyed, leaving only the north gate and its surrounding section.
However, Nurhaci lived a careful life and had no money, so he did not rebuild Shenyang City. This year, a palace of the Great Khan was built in accordance with the original Shenyang North Gate, which was regarded as the central location of the Great Jin Kingdom.
After Huang Taiji ascended the throne, he felt that as a dignified Khan, he should have a relatively stable capital. So I was cruel and took out the blood to expand and repair the Shenyang City Wall. It is planned to start construction on the original city wall, thicken, heighten and strengthen the city wall; and change the original four unlucky gates into a more "favorable" eight gates. Each Eight Banners army guards a gate, and the area inside the gate is divided into eight areas for the Eight Banners disciples to live.
If this project can be completed successfully, Huang Taiji will be able to have a brand-new castle as his capital and fundamental place.
It is a pity that this major project was stopped after last year's "Yanshan" battle. The four city walls were only half built, and the eight gate towers only had their bases repaired. The trenches outside the city are somewhat dignified, but in the eight areas within the city that are reserved for the Eight Flags, half-built mansions can be seen everywhere. Where there are no half-baked mansions, there are either empty wastelands or very poorly built houses - houses with almost no bricks and stones, made of rammed earth and wood. They all look dingy and don't look like anything at all. What kind of place is this place where high officials live?
As for the commercial district, there is only one street in the city, located on the north side of the Khan Palace, called Siping Street. There are more than a dozen shops sparsely opened on the street, most of which sell grain, mountain products, medicinal materials, mules and horses. There are also a few restaurants and wine shops, and two coffin shops. All the shops had little business, were deserted, and looked like they were about to close down. Ever since Huang Taiji, the second-generation Khan, came to power, the market in Shenyang has become more and more depressed day by day!
The reason for the depression in the city of Shenyang is, of course, that Tiancong Khan suffered losses in the war... The battle against North Korea encountered an epidemic, and the battle against Ningjin encountered Hongyi Cannon and Yuan Chonghuan. Last year's entrance battle was the worst, as we met Zhu Youjian, the young emperor of the Ming Dynasty who was "brave as Lu Bu, as cunning as Zhongda, and as ruthless as Cao Cao"... It was another losing battle.
Of course, the fact that the Great Khan always loses money in battles cannot be put on the table here in Shenyang... The Great Khan is smarter than Zhuge, so how can he lose money? When you open the map and look at it, you will know that Dahan is not at a loss. The gains gained from the battle "when he came out of Yanshan" were much greater than what Zhuge Liang gained from the battle when he came out of Qishan! Not only did they capture Mameng Mountain, about half of Yanshan Mountain east of the Hantao River, but they also took advantage of the Ming Army's eastward reinforcements in western Liaoning to capture the city of Jinzhou that had not been captured in the Battle of Ningjin in the first year of Tiancong.
Moreover, the territory that Tiancong Great Khan won in the "One Out of Yanshan" battle was not just a random drawing on the map without actual garrison troops, but real garrison troops! Half of the troops of the Zhenglan Banner and the Xianglan Banner were extracted from the Eight Banners, plus eight newly built Mongolian banners (Eight Banners of Mongolia), and part of the Han army (there is no Eight Banners Han Army yet, only the Han Army Niulu), respectively. The area east of Mameng Mountain and around Jinzhou were garrisoned in fields.
This was a real opening up of territory, and it really pushed the boundary between Dajin and the Southern Dynasties forward by hundreds of miles!
Therefore, the Han people and Khan-clad slaves who were doing business on Siping Street did not dare to say that they made losses "as soon as they left Yanshan"...
Although the Kingdom of Jin did not suffer a loss, Zhang Xiaoqi, the slave who is currently dressing the shop with the red flag, did!
He walked around the entrance and went to the battlefield a few times, but in the end he didn't catch anything. When he came back, he was still a slave with a red flag. Being a slave is not the worst thing. The worst thing is that Zhang Xiaoqi's parents lost their lives due to the famine that started in the winter of the second year of Tiancong. Although Zhang Xiaoqi is not old, his parents are not young either. He is the youngest son of his father and his mother, who gave birth to him when they were in their forties.
In this era, people in their fifties and almost sixty, unless they are pampered and take exercise, are too old to do any heavy work, nor can they go into battle to fight for the Kingdom of Jin.
To the masters who wear red flags, the old couple are of course of little value... If Zhang Xiaoqi can obtain the status of a flag-bearer, there will certainly be a way to earn money for his mother-in-law.
But he was just a minion... Even though he was a little minion who still had room to grow, he couldn't save my mother-in-law's life.
Even if he is willing to give up his rations to his parents - he is a slave and has no freedom to starve to death. He can only starve to death when his master thinks he must starve to death!
Moreover, people who can be masters are smart and will not put old people who must starve to death with filial sons!
He still remembers the moment when he said goodbye to his parents... The two old men were caught in the cold and sent to serve in the Jinzhou Army. In fact, everyone knew that they were not needed in the Jinzhou Army. They were so old. What are you going to do? Give heads to the Ming army? And the masters would not provide the rations needed along the way.
In fact, these redundant people were driven out to starve to death... But Zhang Xiaoqi, who had always been filial, broke up with his parents with a smile!
You have to laugh, how can you cry when the coated slaves of the Kingdom of Jin are marching out of the city? Fan Wencai, who saved Zhang Xiaoqi's life in the last battle at the entrance, led the Han army with red flags to "escort" these old men (not only Zhang Xiaoqi's parents, but also many others) to die... ..If Zhang Xiaoqi died in tears, Fan Wencai would have to scare the monkeys!
Zhang Xiaoqi's heart aches when he thinks of himself smiling and sending his parents to their deaths! The eyes were sore and tears were sloshing inside them.
At this moment, a sound of horse hoof bells rang, and several strong horses passed by in the market like wind. The knight in front was dressed in ordinary people's clothes and had a shaved head. Zhang Xiaoqi recognized him. He was the man with the red flag. Fan Wencai, the military commander, was Fan Wencheng's brother... After sending Zhang Xiaoqi's parents out of Shenyang City, he never came back. He didn't even see her during the Chinese New Year, but she didn't expect to see her today. seen.
"Mr. Fan Da!" Zhang Xiaoqi shouted.
Fan Wencai had slowed down his horse at this time. He heard someone calling him, and it sounded familiar to him, so he reined in the horse and looked back, and saw a tearful Zhang Xiaoqi.
"Xiao Qi..." Fan Wencai looked at this skinny child and sighed. Looking at him, he was also very hungry! So he stretched out his hand, took out a small money bag from his arms, and threw it away, "Take this money, eat a few good meals, replenish yourself... don't save it!"
"Mr. Fan Da..." Zhang Xiaoqi caught the money bag and immediately understood something. Zhang Xiaoqi is 17 years old this year. He has no father, no mother, and no worries. When he goes out to send troops with a red flag, he must take a slave like him with him.
Fan Wencai nodded and said loudly: "Xiao Qi, you can't miss this opportunity again... You must become a flag maid! This is your mother-in-law's last wish... These days, Only when you become a flag officer can you live a good life and live like a human being!"
Zhang Xiaoqi squeezed the bag of money tightly and nodded heavily, with tears in his eyes: "Mr. Fan Da, I understand... I must become a flagman this time!"
Only when you become a flag officer can you live like a human being! This is the only way to rise before the Baoyi, Han people, and Mongolians of the Jin Kingdom.
And...it's definitely possible, as long as you're willing to risk your life!
