There are only more than 900 people in Ningzhou City, but there are more than a dozen camps set up crisscrossing the flat plateau, and they are full of people inside and outside!
He hasn't seen so many people in a long time. How many people are there? Ten thousand? Or twenty thousand?
Sunday Qiang didn’t know. He only knew that the grain-carrying vehicles were making ruts in the barren fields, and the footsteps of people traveling back and forth had broken the road.
What's even more frightening is Bing. Many people have never seen a senior official like Zhizhou in their lives. They look at him curiously wherever they go.
However, the young general leading the way looked very respectful. He said his name was Wei Qian'er, and he used to be a postman in Yan'an Prefecture.
He also asked him with a smile: "Mr. Zhou is greedy for the wages of his subordinates?"
Zhou Qiang thought to himself that in the past in Shandong, he often took home the paper issued by the sixth house of the county government and used it to write poems. This seemed to be considered greedy, right? But it was no longer the case in Ningzhou.
He shook his head.
Wei Qian'er seemed very happy. He raised his chin happily, raised his hand to rub his nose with his thumb, and gave him a thumbs up: "My former Yi Cheng was greedy for our money and asked me to kill him."
Sunday forced himself to swallow. What was more terrifying than Wei Qian'er's plain words was his left hand that raised his thumb.
The word "anti-Ming" is clearly tattooed on it.
Sunday Qiang didn't dare to speak anymore. It was only then that he began to think seriously: What kind of assignment did he receive from Yang He?
Wei Qian'er didn't notice Mr. Zhou's horrified eyes. He remembered the order given to him by the generalissimo and asked Zhizhou to take a good look at his troops so that he could go back and spread fear to Yang He in the future.
He pointed to a camp in the distance and said: "Mr. Zhou, look at that camp. The military discipline of that camp is not good. It is a camp of local bandits in Qingyang. It is a mess and doesn't even have a flag."
That was Han Chaozai's camp, and the camp was very large.
Sunday Qiang clearly saw a large flag with Korean characters at the gate of the camp. How could it be said that there was no flag?
Bang!
There was a sound of cannon in the distance, which made Sunday Qiang tremble. Wei Qian'er pointed to the distance and said: "There is a fort over there. Maybe the people are complaining that the gentry in the fort are rich and unkind. The commander-in-chief enters Qingyang right at Heshui."
Beat up a grain merchant who was hoarding money."
Zhou Qiang looked at the direction where the gunfire came from and closed his eyes helplessly. He knew that place.
Nowadays, there are many forts on the plains of Ningzhou. He was a man who was demoted from the official position. After returning home, he raised sheep and sold donkeys. If he had followed what Wei Qian'er said, he would not have been beaten.
But Sunday Qiang knew why. In March this year, His Majesty implemented the Baojia Law and asked the local gentry to organize people's regiment training. The official came to him and asked for some weapons to go home.
Sunday Qiang guessed that there was a conflict between the regiment and the Liu thief tribe... but he was very confused about how many regiments there were in that bunker. There was not even a few hectares of land when collecting taxes.
In short, it can be foreseen that Ningzhou’s limited tax revenue will be reduced next year.
Gunfire roared in the distant mountains, but soldiers in the nearby camp were doing business. There were stalls, buyers, sellers, men and women, and everything was in order.
"The Lion Camp Work Sentence, the craftsmen are very good at making knives, but it's a pity that Mr. Zhou is really..." Wei Qian'er looked at Zhou Qiang up and down, and shook his head: "It doesn't look like he has money, otherwise you should buy one too
Defend yourself."
An auxiliary soldier who had just finished shopping had his chainmail rolled up on his arm. When he walked out of the camp gate, he bumped into Wei Qian'er. After saying hello, he looked at Zhou Qiang curiously.
Zhou Qiang has a huge psychological effect that prevents him from looking into the eyes of the Lion Battalion soldiers.
In fact, the combat auxiliaries of the Lion Camp are very kind. People will nod and say hello to each other, and they are not barbaric at all.
Their complexions are rosy, well-nourished, and they are full of energy. If you pick one out, they will look better than Sunday. The gloomy Zhizhou lives comfortably.
Kind people are more likely to be raped on Sundays, but kind and proud people are less likely to be raped on Sundays.
Wei Qian'er is still walking.
A ruined village is a camp. To be precise, wherever there is a well, there is a camp.
On the roads connecting villages, Sunday Qiang could see all kinds of people, including soldiers patrolling in formation, riders galloping to deliver messages, and soldiers passing by carrying flags.
In the fields, there was a man with his hair disheveled and shirtless, holding a wooden stick and writing on the flat land. He taught a group of neatly dressed soldiers how to read at the top of his voice.
Wei Qian'er didn't stop Zhou Qiang from going to see it, but he only took a look and followed Wei Qian'er forward quickly.
The shirtless young man also had a tattoo on his left hand with the words "Why do the people starve and the army starve?"
The issues these thieves are studying are more profound than Zhizhou himself.
There are hundreds of people forming a circle at the entrance of the village. Some are wearing the khaki military uniforms of the Lion Camp, and many more are wearing messy colors. They look like bandits and are incompatible with the Lion Camp.
In the middle of the circle was a thin Mongolian with a strong Yulin accent. He stepped on the millstone and stood tall, clutching his bones and shouting: "The emperor is ruthless, the court is immoral, the vassal king is incompetent, and the gentry is incompetent!"
"The commander-in-chief said that this battle will continue for a long time, and we will be invincible!"
The crowd was furious, with everyone clenching their fists and shouting that they were invincible.
This journey made him walk with trepidation, and everything was full of impact.
On the contrary, they passed a camp. The team of less than 800 people was led by an officer to conduct camp drills divided into five sentries. The infantry and cavalry coordination was very familiar, but Zhou Qiang let out a long sigh of relief in his heart.
Finally saw a scene that was within the scope of his imagination.
On the road full of anxiety before coming here, I thought about many possible scenarios on Sunday.
The general fantasy scene is that of groups of thieves wrestling on the plains to practicing in formations. There are hundreds of guards in the camp with swords and gates. At the end are the leaders sitting on a large scale with tiger, leopard and wolf skins to divide the gold.
, drink heavily, and put some bloody human heads on the side.
There are also things like the White Lotus Sect and land distribution and equalization.
As for the level of military discipline and eliteness, it is nothing more than a matter of upper and lower limits. Sunday Qiang believes that it will never change without departing from its origins.
I have seen anti-thieves practicing Kuai, but I have never seen anti-thieves teaching people how to read!
Finally reaching the center of the company camp with a radius of ten miles, Wei Qian'er pointed to the only camp with a wooden fence and said: "The Chinese Army Camp has arrived."
The scale of this camp is not large, but horse inspections are the most frequent, and the camp is also the most heavily defended. There are many soldiers driving horses around the perimeter.
That's the good thing about Ningzhou today. Although this land can't support many people, you can raise as many war horses, donkeys and mules as you want.
The camp was very quiet, without the hustle and bustle that Sunday Qiang imagined. No one even came to greet him. Wei Qian'er just answered the command very calmly and took him into the camp.
The soldiers in the camp were in groups, some were wiping their armor, some were sharpening their weapons, and some were holding muskets and cleaning the barrels over and over again.
Suddenly there was a loud shout: "Wine bags and rice bags!"
Sunday Qiang was so frightened that he glanced over and saw that there was an open space in the camp. A dozen armored sergeants were sitting around the edge, and a few people in the middle were rehearsing something with papers in their hands.
A young general said to several people: "If you want to be scolded with force and anger, I will put Zhang Honggong in jail and that Geng Ruqi all in jail!"
Zhou Qiang originally thought that it was quite interesting, and the bandit camp was also acting. When he heard this line, he didn't dare to move his legs forward. Oh my god, he is playing an emperor!
Wei Qian'er took a few steps forward and noticed that he had stopped where he was. He turned his head and pursed his lips: "Aren't you looking for the commander-in-chief? That's it."
I saw a thin soldier in front of me, and I could tell she was a girl as soon as I opened my mouth. He came to the side of the general and said, "Commander, why don't you learn how to write a storybook? The words assigned to the emperor are too blunt." "In the previous scene, I was grateful to King Qin for his reinforcements. He kissed me like a son, but I turned around and wanted to throw him into prison. I hated him as if I had killed his son. It's so fake."
Zhou Zhouqiang saw that the young general was stunned, and then he smiled and said: "Sanlang, don't you pay attention to the actual situation? I want you to study hard. Geng Ruqi is really in jail. You, the governor of Shanxi, don't even know that. You don't dare to say that."
Write, the emperor really dares to do this."
Fan Sanlang covered his mouth and looked around. He wanted to laugh but was embarrassed to laugh. He slowly lowered his body and finally sat on the ground obediently.
Liu Chengzong smiled and said to several actors: "Just act like this, arrange a few more plays, and perform more in the camp. You will be either marching or fighting all day long, to make the soldiers happy."
He patted Song Shouzhen's shoulders with both hands: "It depends on you to be happy."
After that, Liu Chengzong saw Wei Qian'er standing not far away from the corner of his eye, and Sunday Qiang behind him, and he waved.
Wei Qian'er stepped forward and said, "Commander, Mr. Zhou from Ningzhou."
After that, he said forcefully to Sunday: "Mr. Zhou, when you see our commander, why don't you be polite?"
Liu Chengzong laughed when he heard this. He gestured to his Chinese army tent and said: "What kind of ceremony are you doing? Zhou Zhizhou, come to my tent to talk? Ningzhou produces cherries, let's eat some together."
Anyway, everything along this journey was different from what he had imagined. It was not unexpected that it would be different. Sunday Qiang could only clasp his fists and say: "It is better to obey orders than to be respectful. General Liu, please."
Entering the Chinese army tent, he suddenly felt very good because he saw tiger skins spread on the floor.
He finally found another scene that was similar to what he imagined.
However, this military tent is really simple. It looks shiny from the outside and is made of oilcloth. It is quite spacious inside but is empty because of the scattered furnishings.
I didn't see any gold or silver, but two old wooden boxes. The upper box was open and filled with books.
A set of armor, a cat's and dog's kennel, and only a small kang table, a felt bed, a map, several stacks of pens and papers, and a few oil lamps were left.
"Please take a seat."
Liu Chengzong got some kindling outside, went into the tent, lit the oil lamp, sat on the ground on the tiger skin next to the kang table, and forced a smile on Sunday and said, "I heard someone said that Zhou Zhizhou came here on orders from Governor Yang to recruit me."<
/p>
Zhou Qiang sat down and nodded: "Yes."
"Tell me, what conditions does Governor Yang want to offer?"
Zhou Qiang couldn't stand Liu Chengzong's relaxed and smiling expression. He shook his head and said: "General Liu, I think there is no need to talk about what I have seen and heard along the way."
His eyes fell on Liu Chengzong's left hand. The implication was that you guys have never thought about recruiting people, and what you are doing is not a business that involves falling into trouble.
Negotiating terms with you is just for your enjoyment and is completely unnecessary.
"Zhou Zhizhou, you can't judge people by their appearance."
Liu Chengzong really just wanted to have fun and know how much he stood in the hearts of the three governors. He shook his head and said, "If the court makes me the King of Ningxia, can't I tattoo the word "NO" on my hand?" Liu Shizixin said that if he wanted to be crowned the King of Guanzhong, he could even tattoo the back of his hand and tattoo the oath in front of him.
Zhou Zhouqiang was amused. This was really a big deal. He laughed and said: "The general has lofty ambitions. He might as well think further and simply make him the king of Shaanxi."
"No, no, no, if you grant the title of King of Shaanxi, we will no longer be able to discuss this matter."
Liu Chengzong's cynical expression calmed down, he shook his head sternly and said: "If someone becomes the king of Shaanxi, the emperor, as long as he has a normal mind, can laugh out of his dreams."
Sunday Qiang found out that Liu Chengzong had no respect for the imperial power at all, which made him very uncomfortable, because according to his understanding, the emperor must have a good heart, but he was definitely not willing to seal the earth and seal the king.
He said with a straight face: "Since the general wants to know, the governor gave him a garrison position, dispersed the troops to a thousand, and placed the sergeants between Yanqing."
Defense?
Liu Shizi said in surprise: "Did Governor Yang talk to you about this matter this morning?"
Sunday hesitated for a moment and said seriously: "In the evening."
"I mean he didn't wake up."
Liu Chengzong was very puzzled, why do you look down on others so much?
"You have seen my people. Do you think the imperial court wants to recruit me? What official position should I be given?"
Zhou Qiangxin said that the range given by Yang He was between guard and general, and said: "One government general."
He originally thought that Liu Chengzong would be unhappy when he heard this answer, but he didn't expect that he would smile happily: "General, these troops of mine are all good soldiers. With one general, the rest can be put in place. The placement can make them full."
Rice?"
Liu Chengzong waved his hand: "Hey, let's not talk about this anymore. Where is Cao Wenzhao?"
"Cao...General Cao?"
Sunday Qiang was choked, and several questions flashed through his mind at once.
What does Liu Chengzong mean by laughing? Why did he suddenly jump to Cao Wenzhao? How did he know that the commander-in-chief of Guan Ning's army was Cao Wenzhao?
Sunday Qiang only found out the name of his general was Cao Wenzhao two days ago. He was a little-known general. How did Liu Chengzong know that?
Then his garrison is... waiting for Cao Wen's edict?
There was so much information in an instant that he couldn't answer for a long time: "You, how do you know?"
Liu Shizi did not answer, but continued: "I came here not to attack Ningzhou, but Yang He moved to Ningzhou, the army had to rescue him, and the reinforcements came from Xi'an Prefecture?"
Sunday Qiang didn't want to answer, so he simply asked: "General Liu is not satisfied with the general, what do you want and what are the conditions? You can tell me, and someone will go to Ningzhou to tell the army."
"Conditions, Lintao's chief military officer is vacant, can you afford it? I don't raise the army for my own glory, wealth, princes, generals and ministers."
Liu Chengzong raised his hand and pointed on the table, with a mixture of ridicule and sadness on his face: "Shaanxi, military supplies in five towns on three sides, and people scattered, who can solve it? If it can't be solved, this year's rebels have been recruited, should they rebel next year?
."
Sunday said forcefully: "What the general means is that he does not want to recruit people."
"Who can rebel if they can live well, but cannot live well if they are recruited? I don't see you giving me a way to live, and I don't see the court giving a way to the hungry people and the army. The court only wants to give some false names, and even the false names are reluctant to give them to the big ones." p>
Liu Chengzong smiled and asked: "If you disperse my people and let them continue to rebel or starve to death, how do you want me to recruit them?"
"Let me give you an idea. Send someone to talk to Yang He. I have soldiers and enough food. Who can I rob?"
Liu Chengzong raised his hand and drew a line on the Kang table: "I want to be a real official, but also have a false reputation. I guess it won't be appropriate to discuss this matter at once, but it doesn't matter. If we don't discuss it, we will continue to fight."
In fact, in general, it is quite easy to be strong on Sunday. At least until now, he does not feel that his life is in danger.
As long as he is not separated from his wife and children, it doesn't matter to him to negotiate terms with Liu Chengzong. He is just a messenger anyway, so he asked: "What is a real official and what is a false name?"
"The commander of the Xining Guards will give it to my brother, and he will buy troops, food and materials with me along the way. I guarantee that the soldiers and horses will not be looted everywhere, and Governor Yang guarantees that no one will stop them."
Liu Chengzong's face was more serious than ever before: "I want Qinghai's Xuan comfort envoy to stay here forever."