The Red Mansions

Chapter 937 Sun Shaozu: This Marquis of Yongning is so cruel?

Chapter 937 Sun Shaozu: This Marquis of Yongning is so cruel?

Taiyuan Fucheng, the back house of the official office of the Zongbing Yamen

Lin Ruhai said: "Ziyu, how did the soldiers and horses in Taiyuan Town organize and train this time?"

Jia Heng said: "Today, it has been preliminarily organized into six guards, with a combined force of [-]. Because the town's soldiers need to guard three assistants, in the past, there were more heavy troops and generals were appointed to guard them. To settle the Mongolian matter, perhaps so many soldiers and horses are not needed.”

Taiyuan Fucheng has a quota of 13 soldiers and horses. This does not include the soldiers of the nearby capitals. It can be said that this force is not only for supporting the three auxiliary forces, but also for supporting Datong and Shuozhou.

If you wait for Mongolia to be attached, the defense line of the Han Dynasty will not be so passive, and it can reduce the country's defense pressure by half.

Lin Ruhai said: "Jiubian wastes military pay every year, ranging from tens to tens of millions. In the past, Chahar Mongolia was used as a screen vassal. Although the country wasted money and food, it could gain stability in the northwest, allowing Chahar Mongolia to be annexed by Jurchen. The Han military expenditure The current situation is twice as high as the expenditure. At that time, there was a natural disaster, and the central government was short of money and food, and it was difficult to provide relief to the victims, and the country was bound to be in danger."

In fact, this can also see the strategic vision of the young man in front of him, and he must send troops.

Jia Heng nodded and said, "What uncle said is true."

This is calculated from the economic account. The financial situation of the big man simply cannot withstand the suppression of the Jurchen soldiers and horses outside the Eastern Front.

Emperor Chongping also knew this. Taking advantage of the house raids and sweet potatoes, and having some family assets, he hurried to fight a battle.

Lin Ruhai said: "There is no snow in Guanzhong, Hebei, Shandong and other places this year. I think the northern provinces have had another year of poor harvests. The sweet potatoes that Ziyu promoted before can alleviate the danger of hunger for the people. Before I left Beijing, The Ministry of Household Affairs has joined hands with the Ministry of Industry to go to Shusheng, and sweet potatoes are widely planted in the poor harvest areas of the provinces to make up for the poor harvest. This year, civil unrest cannot be caused again."

Food shortages are unstable, and the farmland can usually be returned to the forest, but when the situation deteriorates, the forest will be returned to the farmland, and the land of abundance, which is rich in gold and silver, will become fertile land again.

Jia Heng said: "In fact, there are many mineral deposits in Shanxi, such as coal, gold and silver. At that time, someone will find out and survey them. I think that the people in the north will use them for warmth, and they will also open up financial resources for the country and increase Yin taxes."

Lin Ruhai nodded and said, "Mineral mining, this matter needs to be handled by the Ministry of Industry."

Afterwards, Jia Heng and Lin Ruhai finished discussing the details of the grain purchase, and each went to rest.

Jia Heng also returned to the back house, came to the study, picked up the book, and said in a low voice: "Is there any new information from the grassland?"

"Not yet, not so fast." Chen Xiaoqing said, "I thought about it just now, Datong has [-] soldiers, and Ping'an Prefecture has [-] soldiers, will Jurchen abandon Datong and go around to attack from behind?" Ping'an Prefecture?"

Jia Heng said: "Then we have to wait until Chahar Mongolia is settled, and after arriving in Datong, send someone to contact Chahar Mongolia immediately."

The problem is that such things are not easy to gamble on. The fighter planes on the battlefield are unpredictable, and right now we can only take one step at a time.

Jia Heng looked at Chen Xiao, and said softly: "It's getting late, let's rest earlier, the troops will march tomorrow morning."

Chen Xiao said "hmm" and didn't say anything else.

The next day, it was just dawn, after the soldiers had eaten.

Jia Heng left [-] cavalry troops alone and handed them over to Qi Jianhui to rectify the Taiyuan town army. He waited for the infantry to arrive and then sent troops to Datong to join them. At the same time, he ordered a Jinyi Qianhu to monitor the Shanxi merchants.

Immediately, without stopping, together with Chen Xiao and Xie Zaiyi, they led a cavalry army of [-] Jingying to march towards Datong.

And the five thousand cavalry who led the army one step ahead had already rushed to Datong one day earlier.

Datong city

Surrounding this ancient city, soldiers holding spears and yanling knives can occasionally be seen on the wall stacks to come and go to police.

Zongbing Yamen, study room in the back house

Jiang Zining, the grandson of Marquis Pingyuan, was sitting behind the handsome desk, staring at the official document in his hand. Just yesterday, Pang Shili, who came on horseback, sent soldiers to deliver the news that the vanguard of the Beijing cavalry army will arrive in Datong this afternoon.

He was in his early forties, with a burly figure, thick eyebrows and big eyes, and his complexion may have been weathered because of the cold frontier wind that often blows.

"Father." Jiang Fan, Jiang Zining's son, entered the study. He was in his early twenties, with sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, but his complexion was bronze, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, and said, "Father, the imperial cavalry has arrived."

"Call all the generals together, and go to meet my father." Jiang Zining said in a deep voice with a calm face.

Datong has a military quota of [-] soldiers, but the actual number of soldiers is only about [-], but it is almost real soldiers and real wages. After all, it is a border gate, and they dare not be greedy or embezzle too much.

Of course, in order to supplement their household expenses, the Jiang family and the town general, together with Datong Wei and Shanxi merchants, smuggled goods to Chahar Mongolia on the grassland.

Among them, smuggling to Jurchen is inevitable.

In other words, unlike Wang Chengyin who was restrained and monitored by a group of military and political officials in Shanxi in Taiyuan, the generals in Datong and Jiang Zining almost became a community of interests.

It will not be easy for Jia Heng to think about solving the Taiyuan problem as before.

While putting on his armor, Jiang Zining said, "Our family and Jiahou are family friends. If the Jia family didn't allow it, our family and the Jia family would have become in-laws."

This is about Jiang Zining asking Wang Ziteng's daughter-in-law to come to Jia's mansion to propose marriage for Yuan Chun, but Jia Heng refused.

Jiang Fan said with emotion: "Father, this Marquis of Jia has risen too fast. He was not an earl at the time, and then won successive battles in Henan and Jiangnan, and became a marquis in one jump."

There was a hint of envy in his tone.

"This kind of Wu Xun's disciples, who have inherited the shadow of their ancestors, even if they are partial, can easily stand up in front of the Holy One." Jiang Zining put the helmet on his head, his tiger eyes flashed, and he said in a voice like a bell.

The beginning of Jia Hou's fortune was to rectify the Beijing camp, weed out the old and the weak, and check the vacancies. After arriving in Datong, if the vacancies were checked, how would his Jiang family respond?

But at this moment, Pang Shili, the governor of the Yangwei Camp, led five thousand cavalry, and stopped the reins before the gate of Datong City.

As an old general in the era when Prince Teng was in charge of the Beijing camp, Pang Shili, who was originally a member of the Yangwei camp, although Jia Heng ignored the previous suspicions and continued to be heavy, but he did not perform well in the war against the chaos in Henan. He was promoted, but he gradually made contributions in the battle of the south of the Yangtze River and the Korean navy and pirates led by Duoduo. After accumulating merits to the governor's affairs, he finally entered the threshold of the high-ranking generals of the Beijing camp.

Compared with the promotion speed of Jia Heng's cronies like Xie Zaiyi and Cai Quan who came from behind, one governor Tongzhi and one governor Qian Shi are not as fast, but they are barely there.

It is worth mentioning that the governors of the [-]th Regiment Battalion are all founding nobles, such as Runan Hou Weiqi and the nobles during the reign of Emperor Taizong, but most of them were in charge of military affairs, and some regiment commanders were mostly veterans, who were under the control In the Ministry of War and the Governor's Mansion of the Five Armies.

"General Pang, the town soldiers from Datong have come out." The deputy general beside him said.

Pang Shili nodded, got off his horse, threw the reins to the soldiers beside him, and said, "General Jiang."

In terms of official rank, Jiang Zining's official rank is naturally high, and his title is also a first-class baron.

"I've seen General Pang." Datong General Soldier Jiang Zining and a group of generals saluted Pang Shili.

Pang Shili and the deputy general behind him, Ding Xiang, the general of the Yangwei Battalion, saluted the generals on the Datong side, and said: "The general will arrive soon, send me to wait for the fast horse to help."

Pang Shili was obviously serious, but his heroic aura still made the generals present dare not underestimate him.

Especially looking at the Beijing cavalry force behind him, they are all members of the ranks, so he can tell at a glance that they can be called sharp.

Jiang Zining smiled, stretched out his hand to invite, and said: "General Pang, please, a banquet has been prepared in the room to welcome the brothers in the Beijing camp."

As everyone said, the cavalry entered the city of Datong in a mighty manner and led them to the place where they were stationed.

Jiang Zining held the rein in his hand, and said to Pang Shili, who was walking side by side, "Although Datong has experienced few dangers these years, it has been constantly repaired and strengthened. These have been reinforced in recent years, and it took a lot of manpower. Physical power."

Just like that, Jiang Zining introduced the city defense facilities in Datong City and the defense of Datong soldiers.

In fact, some of the money Jiang Zining obtained from his greed for ink and smuggling was put into the city. After all, this was the territory of the Jiang family.

As for requesting payment from the court, there is no need to think about counting on the payment from the court.

Pang Shili asked: "Is there a barracks in the city that can accommodate [-] troops? When the commander-in-chief arrives, soldiers and horses will be stationed there. Has General Jiang prepared it?"

Jiang Zining said with a smile: "Don't worry, General Pang, Datong is an important border town, let alone 20 people, even [-] people have a place to garrison, this has been prepared long ago, and a piece of barracks has been tidied up earlier. Bring your troops in."

Because of the short time, and Jia Heng sent someone to intercept the messenger, Jiang Zining at this moment did not know that Wang Chengyin, the commander in chief of Taiyuan, was killed by Jia Heng.

Pang Shili followed Jiang Zining into the hall of the official office. As expected, the food and drink had already been prepared at this moment.

Everyone sat down and began to talk.

……

……

In Xuanfu Town, hundreds of miles away, under the sky full of stars, there is an endless plain in the distance, and occasionally a few sparks light up in the extreme distance.

As night fell, strings of lanterns above the city of Xuanfu kept swaying in the wind.

And Xuanfu Zongbing Yamen

Jiang Yu, the chief soldier of the Xuan Mansion, is in the hall, discussing matters with a group of generals. A few days ago, Jia Heng had sent a document to the Xuan Mansion to guard against the invasion of the Jurchen Eight Banners.

And the news from the prairie also reached the ears of the generals of Xuanfu, even more sensitive than the court's spies, Jurchen sent troops to conquer Chahar Mongolia.

And not long ago, Li Zan, who was in Beiping, sent a military order from the direction of Shenjing, requiring the Xuanfu to be prepared and increase troops at Dushikou to prevent Jurchen from approaching Beiping from Dushikou.

And today is to discuss who will lead the troops to Dushikou.

Jiang Tuan was about forty years old, tall and tall, with a scar on his somewhat dark face, from the ear to the lower jaw, making him look a bit hideous.

Jiang Guan looked at Wang Ziteng who was at the side, smiled, and said: "General Wang is a veteran, and he supports his troops with dignity. He sent a troop to garrison Dushikou to guard against the elite Jurchen soldiers."

When Wang Ziteng went to Xuanfu this time, Li Zan actually allocated 1 soldiers and horses, which means that Xuanfu has [-] soldiers and horses at the moment.

Wang Ziteng frowned, his face was indifferent, and he said: "Jiang Zongbing, Mr. Ge clearly stated in the military order that you and I are strictly guarding the city, meaning to send another army to investigate the case. What does Jiang Zongbing mean by this?" ?”

After all, he was the commander-in-chief of the Beijing camp, and he was the person who inspected the capitals of nine provinces. Although he is not embarrassed among the commanders of Beiping, he has no fear of Jiang Tuan, who is the commander-in-chief of the previous town.

Jiang Yan smiled and said: "General Wang, there are almost no generals and schools in the city who are suitable to guard Dushikou, and General Wang is the most suitable. Or is it possible that General Wang is in Xuanfu and the last general is going to guard Dushikou?"

Wang Ziteng stared at Jiang Teng, who was smiling fiercely, and said: "Xuanfu's soldiers and horses are self-contained, and Wang leads the independent army. Since Jiang Zongbing thinks Wang is suitable, Wang will lead the army. If it is Jurchen The army is attacking Raoxuan Mansion, Master Jiang alone may lead the army to resist?"

This was obviously to push him out, so he could only go to guard Dushikou, otherwise Li Ge would blame him, and he would be no better than Jiang Yu for taking the blame.

"General Wang, don't worry, the generals and soldiers of my Xuanfu are united as one, ready to fight, and vow to fight Jurchen to the death." Jiang Yu said loudly.

When Wang Ziteng heard this, his face turned ugly, he snorted coldly, and said nothing more.

There was a suffocating panic in my heart, if he was still the head of the Jingying Festival, how could he be angry with the ordinary people in front of him?

In fact, in the past year, Wang Ziteng's heart was in torment. When he heard that the Central Plains was in chaos and bandits captured Kaifeng, the provincial capital, he still had little hope that the court would send him back. Just in case...Jia Heng is unfavorable in the army, he wants to lead the army back.

But as time passed, Jia Heng won the great victory in the Central Plains, and Wang Ziteng was shocked speechless because of his meritorious service. When the Southeast Jurchens colluded with pirates to cause disaster, Wang Ziteng naturally paid attention secretly. Zhen Zhu was defeated, and there was a little expectation in his heart.

But not long after, Jia Heng defeated the Jurchen again, and captured the Jurchen Prince alive at a dizzying speed, which directly made Wang Ziteng completely stunned.

When Wang Ziteng left, Jiang Guan's face was gloomy, and his eyes flickered with coldness.

Ever since that old man Li Ge sent this Prince Teng over to lead the army, the goods he trafficked to the grasslands began to stagnate, and everyone was drinking the northwest wind for the past six months.

There were still three days left to come over to count, and for the first time there was a shortage of [-] soldiers, that old Li Ge had to be reprimanded by him, fortunately he didn't rely on empty rations and deducted military pay to survive.

After Li Zan arrived in Beiping, he mainly began to rectify the military affairs of Xuanfu, Jizhen, and Beiping. There were varying degrees of vacancies and deduction of military pay in the three places, but the overall situation was not serious, especially in Xuanfu.

As for the chief soldier of Jizhen, Tang Kuan, had already beheaded Li Zan as a way to rectify the military discipline, and then he recruited soldiers from Yanzhao to supplement the frontier troops of several towns. Wang Ziteng led [-] soldiers and horses, assisted in the management of Xuanfu, and assisted in military affairs.

The Xuanfu general below said: "Don't worry, my lord, as long as the Tartars dare to come, we will fight to the death with them."

At this moment, a young general quickly entered the hall and whispered something in Jiang Guan's ear, which made Jiang Guan's complexion change suddenly.

A group of generals also noticed something strange and looked sideways.

Jiang Yu said: "Generals, it is now noon, and a banquet has been held in the Zuixian Tower in the city. Come over and have some."

All the generals and schools said yes one after another.

In the past, this has become a daily thing, Jiang Tuan will always treat the generals to eat and drink, and his prestige in the army is not low.

As Jiang Yu said, he came to the study in the backyard and saw the second young master of the Kang family, Kang Zexing, who was sitting on a chair waiting. He calmed himself down and asked, "Nephew Kang, why came here in such a hurry?"

Kang Ze rose up, cupped his hands at Jiang Guan and said, "Uncle Jiang, the Marquis of Yongning has already arrived in Taiyuan, killed Wang Chengyin and Shang Zhonggang, and seized his military power. Father was terrified, and specially ordered me to come to Mr. Jiang quickly." Horse warning."

Because of the long distance, in just a few days, Jia Heng's various deeds in Taiyuan have not been passed on.

Jiang Yu's face changed slightly when he heard the words, and he said: "Why did the Marquis of Yongning kill Wang Chengyin? This is the commander-in-chief of a town, how can he kill him arbitrarily?"

"It is said that he was greedy for the army's salary and incited the soldiers to rebel." Kang Zexing said in a low voice with a gloomy face, and said angrily: "If you want to commit a crime, there is no excuse for it!"

Hearing this, Jiang Yu frowned, and sat on a wooden chair made of rosewood, with a thoughtful look on his face, and said: "Wang Chengyin's greed for ink and military pay is indeed quite serious. This Lord Jia wants to make an example of others."

"Not only that, but I also heard on the way that my father and several other uncles were asked to help the court raise military rations with eight dollars and one stone." Kang Zexing said in a low voice with an ugly expression.

Jiang Guan got up, paced back and forth and said, "Confiscation of military rations should be a normal thing."

"My father said that if the Kang family was killed, Uncle Jiang would also be watched by the Marquis of Yongning." Kang Zexing finally said.

Jiang Yu's face turned gloomy, with murderous intent in his eyes, he looked at Kang Zexing coldly, but immediately restrained himself.

It shouldn't be threatening to reveal the matter to me, and everyone will die together, but the method of this Marquis of Yongning. If he touches the Kang family, he will definitely investigate thoroughly, and then find out that he resold weapons, food, and drinks to Jurchen. .

Kang Zexing said: "Uncle Jiang, that Marquis of Yongning is cruel and merciless, so we have to guard against it."

Jiang Guan nodded and said, "Nephew, you hide in the city for a while, I'll think of a way."

There is not much shortage of soldiers and horses in his Xuanfu Town, and they have been replenished one after another after Mr. Li Ge's rectification last time. The Marquis of Yongning can't hold him back.

But... the smuggling of Jurchen, if it is leaked, it will be a catastrophe, and it can be a crime of ransacking the family and exterminating the entire family.

Seeing Jiang Guan's face pondering, Kang Zexing said, "Uncle Jiang, then I'll go there first."

Then, under the guidance of a servant, he left the study.

Jiang Yu's face sank like water, and he sat alone on the rosewood chair for a while, only to feel anxious.

Gathering his mind, he called a servant and said, "Go ask Commander Sun to come over."

Commander Sun is Sun Shaozu, the commander of the Datong Guards. During this period of time, he was seconded by Jiang Yu to the Xuanfu, but he was actually doing smuggling business. If Sun Shaozu hadn't offered advice and advice for the past half a year, Jiang Yu, under the watchful eyes of Wang Ziteng, would not have dared at all. Smuggle goods into the grasslands.

The servant took the order to go, and after a while, he invited Sun Shaozu into the study.

"The last general has met Master Jiang." As soon as Sun Shaozu entered the study, he cupped his fists and saluted Jiang Guan.

Jiang Guan's expression softened a little, and he said, "Commander Sun, please sit down quickly."

Sun Shaozu thanked him, and sat down on the chair beside him, only dared to sit on half of his buttocks, with a smile on his grand face, he said: "I don't know why Mr. Jiang is in such a hurry to call for the future?"

Damn, he just went to see the music conductor of the Jinyi Mansion, and this Jiang Tuan came to call him.

Jiang Guan asked: "Commander Sun, I want to hear the news that the imperial army has arrived."

"I will never hear from Commander Liang about this matter," Sun Shaozu said hastily.

Jiang Guan's face was expressionless, but there was a bit of sadness in his voice: "The Marquis of Yongning led the seal of the general who conquered the captives, and the army went to Taiyuan to kill Wang Chengyin and Shang Zhonggang, the chief soldiers, and seize their military power. This is already a few days ago. thing."

Sun Shaozu was startled when he heard this, and said, "This..."

This Marquis of Yongning has such cruel methods?

(End of this chapter)