On October 28, the twelfth year of Chongzhen in the Ming Dynasty, the earth was a silvery white, and the snowflakes that had fallen before were condensed together. Although it was sunny for several consecutive days, they did not melt.
However, the road was a bit muddy, with people coming and going, and horses and mule carriages kept coming. The snow on the street had melted and frozen, frozen and melted again, and it had been like this for several days.
There have been two snowfalls since the beginning of the light snow festival, but the temperature has picked up again after the snowfall. Now there is still some snow piled on the corner walls in the shady alleys.
The military households in Dushikou have long been accustomed to the cold and don't care about the sometimes howling north wind. Many of them are still wearing jackets and single pants, but everyone's face is filled with happy smiles.
In their eyes, Dushikou seems to be much more prosperous than before. Not only is the business easier, but even those who run errands between shops and warehouses, and even those who carry work, are making much more money than before.
From time to time, you will see one or two people. They are puffing away at the street tea shop or in the winery. They gather in twos and threes and chat. If you get closer, you will hear them. Apart from Zhang Cheng, the one they talk about the most is Zhang Cheng. This is the infantry camp stationed at the Dushikou North Exercise Field.
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Now, everything is gradually on track. Although the step camp is still practicing day and night, they have three days off every month. They can go to Dushikou Castle together for a walk.
Military regulations strictly prohibit drinking in the military camp, but there are no regulations during holidays. Therefore, during holidays, they often get together with three or five people to drink, and of course there are also a group of eleven people at a table.
At first, when seeing them, various shops and restaurants looked like menaces. Some of them put up signs saying they were full in advance, and some even closed the doors with boards. Those who couldn't make it in time also received them with sad faces and reluctant expressions.
But what they didn't expect was that these Qiu Ba were different from the past. Although they were noisy as usual, they drank wine, cried and laughed, yelled and punched.
But they never defaulted or owed money, and every time they paid, they were very happy and clean. The only drawback was that there was a pungent smell on them, and the places where they drank also had a spicy smell. The floor was littered with extinguished cigarette butts.
Since August 26, the soldiers of the North Road battalions began to implement a three-day leave system per month. It was originally planned to take one day off every ten days. Later, after discussion, it was determined to be three days off at the end of each month.
In this way, those sergeants recruited on the North Road can go home nearby and live for a day, while those whose homes are far away from the military camp can only live in the camp.
These new sergeants who received military pay have become the main consumer force in Dushikou and Chicastle. Even those sergeants who go home, some of them will go back without bringing some belongings.
However, the car camp stationed in Yunzhou was the latest to be established. In mid-July, after Wu Zhizhong East Road and the capital recruited 3,000 young men, they allocated 2,000 to the car camp. Now they have only completed three months. Centralized training, just separated into the car camp, there will be no vacation until next month.
Moreover, the original 500 sergeants of the Yunzhou Car Camp, in addition to training, had to stand guard and patrol inside and outside the Yunzhou Craftsman Camp, but they basically had no holidays.
However, the business in Yunzhou is still prosperous, because the families of the craftsmen in the Yunzhou craftsman camp have a lot of income. When they were in the capital, their income was barely enough to make ends meet.
Now they not only have enough to eat, but also have some spare money, so how can they not spend it? Besides, since they have settled here, all kinds of things in the house must be kept neatly.
What's more, there are many workshops in this craftsman's camp, with workers and apprentices of all kinds, plus those who provide support, there are always thousands of people. Whenever festivals come, they become the consumers in Yunzhou market. Main force.
Moreover, the border trade between Dushikou and Mumabao is becoming increasingly prosperous. Not only are there frequent caravan exchanges, but also some military families flee from time to time.
Zhang Cheng took them all in as usual. Although this increased the number of young people on the North Road, it also caused dissatisfaction with the other guards in Xuan Town, especially the East Road and the Middle Road.
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Yang Qing was now the captain of the first outpost team of the Cavalry Battalion, also known as the team leader.
He was originally the commander of Team 1A of the Outpost B, General Team C of the Thousand Outposts of the Cavalry Headquarters when Zhang Cheng joined the Guards. When the Ranger Department of the North Road Cavalry Battalion was formed this time, he was selected as the team officer.
Today, he invited everyone to gather at Zuixianju, not far from the Changsheng Gate in the east of Dushikou Castle. Naturally, everyone respected the outpost's chief officials, horses, and three strong men.
In addition, Gu Zhide, the captain of the second team, Niu Gengtian, the captain of the third team, and three members of the Yang Qing team, Shi Changji Yingchun, Ye Zimei, and Qiu Shuzhen, were sitting around in a single room by the window on the second floor of Zuixianju.
Last time, their Ranger Division was ordered to send troops to the east route with Jin Yong's Dushi Infantry Battalion B Division to suppress bandits. In the first few days, they pretended to be bandits and horse bandits to scare the new troops of Division B. In the later period, they attacked separately. Indeed, more than ten bandit villages were wiped out.
But they also gained a lot from this trip. The bandits and horse thieves on the east road are really not comparable to those on the north road. Perhaps it is because the east road is more prosperous and the caravans pass by more frequently.
Afterwards, statistics showed that during their expedition to suppress bandits on the East Road, they harvested a total of nearly 30,000 taels of silver, cloth and other items, and nearly 5,000 taels of grains and beans. It was a great harvest.
All the soldiers of the B Division and the Ranger Division who went into battle were each rewarded with at least one tael of silver, and those who had made meritorious service or were injured received heavier rewards. Everyone was excited and excited.
The sergeants in the infantry and cavalry camps who did not get the chance to fight also clamored to go out to suppress the bandits and bring peace to the people, which fully achieved the effect Zhang Cheng expected.
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Yesterday, Niu Gengtian, the captain of the third team, cooked the food. They had eaten and drank in an old restaurant in the west of the city. During the dinner yesterday, Gu Zhide, the captain of the second team, drank and shouted carelessly that it would be his turn to cook tomorrow.
As the captain of the first team, Yang Qing couldn't let it go. The two started fighting over each other during the banquet. In the end, the sentry boss Ma Sanzhuang decided that Yang Qing would be the host today.
It's just that several chiefs from the third team participated yesterday, and today they were replaced by three chiefs from the first team. However, Ma Sanzhuang, Yang Qing, Gu Zhide, Niu Gengtian and others did not change.
In a single room on the second floor of Zuixianju, there is a copper hot pot on the table. The pot is boiling hot, and several pieces of sheep and scorpions are cooked in it. There are also many chewed sheep and scorpions on the table. .
Several people were all dressed in clothes, their mouths were full of oil after eating, and there were beads of sweat on their foreheads. Yang Qing put down the long chopsticks in his hands, raised the wine bowl and said: "Come on, let's all give a bowl to Mr. Ma." .”
"Yes, respect Mr. Ma..."
Everyone raised their wine bowls in confusion, and the second captain Gu Zhide's tongue was a little too big, and his words were even more unclear.
Ma Sanzhuang did not pick up the wine bowl. He glanced at the people on the table and shouted in a deep voice with a big red face: "We must respect the commander-in-chief. If it were not the commander-in-chief, how could we be here today?"
"Yes, Commander-in-Chief Jing..."
"Respect the Commander-in-Chief..."
