Chapter 5 The Elites of the Liao Army

After standing still in the darkness for a long time, Ma Cheng walked back to the room step by step. That night, he lay on the bed and looked at the dark beams. The beautiful girl's face could not help but appear in his mind, and he didn't know where she was from Kaiyuan.

It is rare for a girl in this family to be so beautiful and have such a gentle temperament. Judging from her age, she is only sixteen or seventeen years old. She is in the prime of life, which makes people daydream.

After thinking for a while, he shook his head and laughed, and went to sleep.

In the Ming Dynasty, where the hierarchy was strict, an illegitimate son had no status, let alone a woman. After the first month, he would leave the city. She, a girl who had not yet left the court, was living in seclusion. The possibility of meeting her again was basically zero. It was just an adversity in life.

It was particularly unforgettable to meet such a gentle and beautiful woman.

Forty-sixth year of Wanli period, eighteenth day of the first lunar month.

Marin fulfilled his promise and handed over a private farm sixty miles north of the city to Ma Cheng. Before Ma Cheng had time to experience the life of a wealthy manor, he became a victim of the family struggle, which Ma Cheng liked.

He is very cheerful and happy to stay away from right and wrong. He has four older brothers and two younger brothers, and it is not his turn to fight for the family property. Instead of being looked down upon in the General Military Mansion, it is better to go outside and have a try. This place in the north of the city

Zhuangzi is called Majiapu. It has twenty hectares of fertile land and twenty households of its customers, including two families, Ma Xiaosan and Ma Xiaowu.

In addition to farmers farming, there are also two small banners of twenty Mafu servants and more than fifty war horses stationed in Zhuangzi. They are servants but they are actually private soldiers. The two small banners of twenty well-equipped cavalry are definitely horses.

The elite force among the private soldiers of the government was led by Ma Guozhong, the chief flag officer of Kaiyuan Horse Camp. He was in his thirties and was very tough. He should have been Ma Lin's absolute confidant for many years.

Arriving at Zhuangzi Shangma City was an eye-opener, and I was fortunate enough to see the most elite cavalry of the Ming Dynasty. The standard equipment of these elite cavalry included a set of exquisite half-length fish scale armor, which should be a type of breastplate, and a lance hung on the side of the horse.

It looks like a trident with one end split open, which is very heavy to acquire. The melee weapon is a long and narrow sharp sword, which is a bit like the Miao sword of later generations. The key parts of the war horse are also equipped with armor, and some people are equipped with three-eyed fire guns.

, the war horses equipped are also very high-quality Tibetan tall horses, and the equipment is so sophisticated that it is daunting.

In the eyes of later generations, this team of elite cavalry can be classified as well-equipped light armored cavalry.

Ma Cheng was very excited when he saw these cavalry, but then felt a little regretful. The number of this team of elite cavalry was too small, and the cost of maintenance must be very high. If the Ming Dynasty could devote all its efforts to raise more

With such elite cavalry, how difficult would it be to defeat the Hou Jin Taozi? As a professional cavalry company commander in later generations, Ma Cheng asked himself that with only one hundred thousand such cavalry, he could surely defeat the Eight Banners of the Hou Jin Dynasty.

One after another, fantastic ideas popped up in my mind, and a weird smile appeared on my face unconsciously.

Ma Guozhong next to him teased him: "Young Master Fifth, he misses girls, right?"

Ma Cheng woke up with a start and felt a little embarrassed, so he found an excuse to fool him.

This General Ma Qi was quite polite to him, and the Fifth Young Master's name was very smooth, which made Ma Cheng suddenly like him, and he was happy to hang out with these reckless soldiers. He vaguely seemed to have returned to the border defense camp, and his comrades.

In the happy days when they were boasting nonsense, the composition of these servants of the Ma family was also very complex. Some were old subordinates who had followed Ma Lin for many years, and some were heroes recruited with huge sums of money.

Another problem with this team of elite cavalry was noticed by Ma Cheng. They were not strong in fighting will. Among these people, most of Marin's old subordinates had families. Their wives and children lived in the village. After many years in the army, having families was inevitable.

The war is endless. And those brave men recruited from the rivers and lakes are even worse. Not to mention the lax military discipline, they are all unruly characters. They are still the most elite troops in the Ming army. Other Ming armies

One can imagine their combat effectiveness. With such a force facing the tiger-like and wolf-like army of Hou Jin, Ma Cheng suddenly felt a little guilty.

Of course I would only think about these things in my head and would not be stupid enough to say them out loud.

After they had settled down in Zhuangzi with their mistress, three and five brothers, Ma Guozhong came again uninvited.

The rugged military man winked and invited Ma Cheng to a quiet room to talk.

There was no one in the quiet room, Ma Guozhong looked calm and clasped his fists: "A certain family has been ordered by the eldest son and has a few words to tell the fifth young master."

Ma Cheng also looked calm, grinning with a relaxed smile: "Brother Guozhong, there is no need to be polite. I, the fifth young master, cannot take my title seriously."

Ma Guozhong also grinned widely: "There is a difference between master and servant, and this etiquette cannot be omitted... The day before yesterday, the eldest son sent a letter, in which he ordered a certain family to tell the fifth young master that after the young master left the house, he should not think about it.

I will go back now, otherwise the eldest lady will be unhappy and cause trouble again, which will make everyone look bad."

Although Ma Cheng was well prepared, he was still so angry that he could not speak. This half-brother was completely domineering and refused to allow him to refuse, as if he was his eldest son.

He was kicked out of the house and ordered not to return to the house for the rest of his life.

Ma Guozhong saw that his expression was sluggish, and he clasped his fists again: "A certain family is just telling the truth, don't blame me, Fifth Young Master."

Ma Cheng's expression became stagnant for a moment before returning to normal, and he replied sternly: "Of course I will listen to what the eldest brother has to say. Please tell me, Brother Guozhong, that I will take note of this favor and I will repay it in the future!"

These few words were half-truth and half-false, and they also brought a knowing smile to Ma Guozhong's rough black face.

After settling in, I walked around the village to suppress the negative emotions in my heart.

Tuoma Guozhong came forward to do something and brought Xiaosan, Xiaowu and Aunt Li to the village to enjoy the happiness.

Twenty households of villagers, together with the family members of Ma Guozhong and others, make Majiapu a large village with more than 200 people. There are eight young men of similar age to him. Only after seeing these eight brave young men can we understand why history

Above, Liaodong is famous for its fierce folk customs. All of the eight Majiapu children can ride horses and shoot arrows. Although they are not proficient, they are still very good. Six of the eight people are from military households.

They had all received a certain degree of military training. Ma Cheng was confused for a while before he figured it out. Allowing military households to deregister and come to the Stallion's tax-free private land was a very direct form of tax evasion in this era.

According to the tax system of the Ming Dynasty, military settlements were subject to heavy taxes, but private lands of officials and gentry were not taxed. I was shocked when I figured this out. The generals here are really brave enough to let such a strong man

The children of military households left their nationality to cultivate private fields. There was nothing these generals did not dare to do. No wonder the Ming Dynasty’s frontier troops were left with only the old, weak, sick and disabled, and their combat effectiveness was getting worse and worse. Most of the military farmlands were abandoned. At a glance, you can see all the leopards.
Chapter completed!