It was the seventh day of the second lunar month in the second year of Chongzhen.
The garrison of Yuhe Fort, He Renlong, sent an order to the entire fort in the afternoon, dispatching 174 troops stationed at the fort's frontier, each carrying three days of dry food. They led their horses and armored troops to the Wuding River outside the fort, as if they were sending out troops.
He Renlong led his horse and walked along the front river, walking very slowly.
This river is also called Ginchuan, and Yinchuanyi is named after it. Sometimes people also call it the Mufu River because of its severely damaged vegetation, irregular flow, varying depth, and uncertain clarity and turbidity.
Now he is like this confused river, not knowing whether his decision is good or bad, but things are so bad that there is no other way.
He stood still and looked back at the groups of sergeants in front of him again and again, and finally walked to the front of the group with his sword pressed, raised his fists, and bowed silently to everyone.
"The matter must have spread, and all the brothers know what it means to leave the castle."
In fact, there was a lot he wanted to say. Tangtang Guards was very aggrieved to make such a decision, so aggrieved that it was difficult to speak.
He was a martial scholar in the late Wanli period. The first vacancy he filled was defense. At that time, the imperial court attacked the Hu in the north, the Japanese in the east, the Kuai in the west, and the Bo in the south. He was invincible in every attack and invincible in battle.
Being in arrears with military pay, even if they can only receive 70% of the military pay, is considered a normal phenomenon by both soldiers and officials. The court has a lot of expenditures, and everyone can understand the difficulties. They tighten their belts and grit their teeth and come here.
.
In the early years of the Apocalypse, the past salary arrears were paid off in two years. In the fourth year of the Apocalypse, after the years of arrears of pay for the border troops were repaid, they basically received full military pay that year. The training at that time was serious and the drills were also very powerful.
Qi Jiguang's drills, Li Chengliang's hunting, and Xu Guangqi's regulations were all compiled into war manuals by the imperial court, and were issued to generals everywhere to train their sergeants so that they were always ready to fight in the next war.
At least for He Renlong, he never expected that the situation would turn bad so quickly.
In the fifth year of the Apocalypse, the situation took a turn for the worse. The military pay belonging to Yansui Town was only paid 27 and a half percent, and in the sixth year it was 38 percent. The morale of the troops became unstable, and they began to suffer like Zhang Juzheng before he ascended the cabinet.
deserter.
After five years of deserting, he ordered his subordinates to catch him, lock up the pass, search the mountains, and bring him back and punish him severely according to the military law.
He sent people to look for the deserters who had been deserting for six years. He found Mizhi Suide in the southern cities and found Xiaozhi who persuaded him with reason and emotion.
He had no choice but to look for the deserters in the seventh year of the Apocalypse in person. He went deep into Luliang Mountain in Hengshan. The soldiers he found would rather kneel down and kowtow to him than come back. What could he do if he didn't want to come back?
We are all human beings and we don’t want to starve to death.
When he went home to farm, he tried to get cattle and donkeys. When he went into the mountains to join the bandits, he negotiated with the bandit leader to get the people out.
At the same time, refugees are recruited to fill the vacancy of sergeants in the fort.
In order to prevent the border troops from escaping again, he gritted his teeth and swallowed up the military fields outside Yuhe Fort. In order to cultivate the army's fields, he also blackmailed an army from Yansui Guard to farm the fields.
In the first year of Chongzhen, there were no deserters. When the new emperor came to the throne, he not only granted amnesty to the whole country, but also gave a large part of the military salary for that year. He also used his savings to buy more than fifty sets of winter clothes for the soldiers in the fort, and persuaded the soldiers not to pardon.
If you sell swords, bows and arrows, there will be wars in the future.
Let me tell you that the situation can get better, and it is true that northern Shaanxi has been experiencing drought for three consecutive years. Even if you escape, there is no place to survive. Even if you don't have enough to eat in Yuhebao, you will not die of hunger. Maybe next year the situation will change.
Okay?
But the situation in the second year of Chongzhen was not better, not even half a bit.
This year he really didn't have the face to persuade the soldiers to stay, and he really couldn't get food for his subordinates. The court only gave half of the army food, which was enough to feed the three hundred people of Yuhe Fort.
When Shaanxi needs troops, Yuhebao would rather have 300 troops who are still capable of fighting than 500 weak and hungry troops.
"He is sorry for you. The mountains are high and the rivers are long. You are wandering around, but I can't give you anything to practice. I only have some arrows. Please fill up the arrow pot.
I can't survive outside. Today is January and February, and it doesn't matter if it's five or ten years. As long as He is still alive, even if he doesn't become an officer and goes home to farm, as long as you come to look for me, I will take care of everything I have to eat.
You have a mouthful of food.
After that, He Renlong took down a wine bowl from his horse, bent down to scoop a bowl of water from the river, and laughed at himself miserably: "The castle is so poor that we don't even have wine, so He Mouquan used
I offered water from Jichuan River instead of wine to apologize to my brothers!"
The frontier soldiers standing opposite He Renlong were in a state of flux, and no one was speechless. Some gritted their teeth and stared, or clasped their fists in return. They were so emotional that they could say a thousand words, but in the end they could only say: "General!"
He Renlong's eyes were also red. He turned the bottom of the wine bowl and put it away. He pursed his lips and nodded slowly. He pretended to smile smartly and said: "He won't say other girly things, so as not to worry about it."
Falling into ridicule.
There are many captains to lead you. The outside is not like inside the fort. You must be careful in everything. You leaders often send people back to check. Maybe when the court pays back the salary, He will be able to work with you again."
He Renlong cupped his hands again and said: "We will wait here for the time being, brothers... take care!"
Liu Chengzong was holding his horse and standing in the crowd, just behind his brother. As the only servant Xuanfeng who left Yuhe Fort with the border troops, his style of painting was different from others.
He held the red flag and knew that he was going to leave with his brother. He Renlong gave him this horse as a gift. Others had more than a dozen arrows in their quivers, but he had two quivers with thirty-three arrows hung on his horse.
Arrows, six of which are the best carved feather fast arrows.
A hunting dog named Xiao Zuanfeng and Mei Dianmei, the director of the Yuhe Fort Rodent Control Office, followed him.
Director Mei was sitting in a wooden basket on horseback. He seemed to dislike this small room with drafts on all sides. He was so angry that he kept breathing around in the cage.
Others can dress as lightly as possible, and some people don't even wear armor.
He was good, he had men, horses, cats and dogs, and he had four mouths; he had a two-flap Northern Army helmet on his head, he was wearing a red side armor, he had a wild goose feather sword hanging on his waist and he was holding a seven-foot short spear, as if he was going out to fight.
The city wall of Yuhe Fort was full of people. Nearly two hundred soldiers from the border army formed their own groups and headed south along the river under He Renlong's farewell. No one knew what the defenders standing on the city should think at this time.
.
Those who leave feel even heavier. Only a few of them have clear goals, and most of them don't know where to go.
After walking out of Liyuan, Liu Chengzong walked side by side with his brother. Looking at the rolling mountains on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, he sighed and said, "General He is not bad to his subordinates."
Liu Chengzu, who was worried, nodded and said: "The general has always believed that generals who only know the restraints of military law are mediocre. He said that in order to lead the soldiers, one still has to compare their hearts with their hearts, but now we are in a desperate situation——"
"Comparing your heart to your heart is not as good as a hungry heart."
Liu Chengzu then put on his serious face and said: "We, the twenty-four people, only have three days of food, and we can only walk to Ansai if we are fast.
It's forty miles south to Mizhi, and the road to Yan'an Prefecture is really difficult. You have to find a way to get some food on the way, and you have to rely on your little luck.
I want to go home first and then worry about other things when I get home."
Note: 1. The data on salary arrears from the end of Wanli period to the seven years of Tianqi comes from "Duzhi Memorial Hall Draft"
2. The amount of rates paid in Yansui Town from the sixth year of Tianqi to the second year of Chongzhen comes from "Duzhi Memorial·Border Rates Division"
