"Have you heard? As soon as those Zhejiang soldiers arrived in Tongzhou, they received food, and it was all expensive rice!"
The chieftain soldiers, who had been waiting outside the Tongzhou granary all day long to receive food but could not receive it, soon heard the news.
"Why! Why don't we spend military money to buy expensive rice? They can eat it as soon as they arrive!"
"I miss the rice in my hometown so much. When I arrived in Tongzhou, let alone rice, even millet was eaten with sand."
"You still have to choose, I haven't had enough to eat here."
"Today, food prices have risen again. Tongzhou has been hit by disasters in recent years, and it is impossible for more than 3,000 of us to keep buying food."
"Military expenses were used to buy sky-high prices for food. My original plan to buy winter clothes is probably gone..."
If some ordinary soldiers were targeted like this while hungry, they would probably mutiny.
But they or they are the famous white-pole soldiers who followed Qin Liangyu loyally. They have always been one of the strongest melee infantry in the Ming Dynasty, and they have always endured no matter how hard it is.
Qin Liangyu has been trying to stabilize the mood of the soldiers and ask for food from Tongcang, but there are so many dirty hands behind her and Xiong Tingbi that it is really hard to guard against them.
One suppressed and the other praised, which naturally made the chieftain soldiers have opinions on the Zhejiang soldiers.
Just adding more fire can cause friction and even internal strife.
After three days, the mood of the chieftain soldiers began to deteriorate. It took Qin Liangyu a lot of time to calm down the soldiers. Of course she knew the seriousness of the problem. On the one hand, she went beyond Tongcang and directly pressed the Ministry of War for food. On the other hand, she asked Qin Ling
Keep in touch with several generals of the Sichuan Army.
But like a stone sinking into the sea, the food is not in place.
"It can be suppressed for the time being, but if someone secretly takes action, some soldiers may take action privately."
Wang Hongyu already figured out what was going on.
The Tongzhou civil servants and the Northern Army were specifically trying to run against the Southern Army, in order to promote internal strife between the two armies.
Historically, robberies also occurred at the same time. From this point of view, this group of people should have been blamed for the robberies, and the crime was clear.
"That's fine, you hit yours, and I'll hit mine~"
...
The middle area of several major military camps in Tongzhou.
Since a large number of soldiers are gathered here, the soldiers certainly have many needs. In addition, Xiong Tingbi has obtained 18 taels of silver for them every year. Not half of them may be given to their hands, but they still have purchasing power. Therefore, among the several military camps, there is originally a
On the basis of the small village, a lively large market was formed.
It is very lively during the day. There is a ten-mile-long market around the intersection of several dirt roads. There are also a large number of people coming from nearby towns and villages. People come and go, bustling and crowded.
It's even more lively at night. The original dozen or so mud houses and nearly a hundred newly built houses will all light up. If you walk among them, you will hear the call of "Come and play" from time to time.
There were excited shouts from the sergeants of the gambling den.
Of course Wang Hongyu and the others came over during the day and took the initiative to disrupt the thief's plan.
This day is a good day. As soon as I approach the market early in the morning, I can see an endless stream of people. When I walk in, there are already dozens of stalls. In addition to selling grain, salt, vegetables and meat jerky, there are also candy makers.
There were jugglers, qigong practitioners, rock crushers, and people selling private goods, all showing off their skills, and it was a lively place.
Fortunately, they arrived not too late. Wang Hongyu, Meng Biao and others found a large open space and directly built the arena.
Meng Biao sent 90 men from the Sichuan army to attack together, and within half an hour they set up an extremely wide arena.
The arena is 15 steps long and 15 steps wide. The inside of the arena is covered with sand. Four logs one person thick and one foot long are used as the four corners of the arena. The edges of the arena are green grass that has just grown up, so that you can clearly see the boundaries of the arena.
.
Wang Hongyu said to Meng Biao: "Sergeant Meng, you put on three layers of armor and stand on the ring. There is no need to come down today."
"As you command!"
Meng Biao knew the plan a long time ago and shouted to his men: "Bring the armor over here!"
The soldier replied: "What kind of armor should I take? Cloth face armor, hood armor or mountain armor?"
"Stupid! Can you wear mountain armor in the ring? That thing is very precious. If it's broken, can you afford to repair it? Take the cowl and cloth armor. Wear two layers of light cowl inside, and wear heavy cloth armor on the outside. Arms
The key is to have two layers of arm armor."
"yes!"
After a few sticks of incense, Meng Biao, a veteran of the Sichuan Army who was not considered tall and powerful, wore three layers of armor and even two helmets, almost turning into an iron rice dumpling.
When he walked to the ring step by step, he almost fainted when he saw the words hanging on the ring.
It turned out that while he was putting on his armor, Wang Hongyu asked a few agile soldiers to climb up the pillar and paste a picture on it.
The clear black and white words on the paper are just big enough to be seen clearly from far and near. What is written is: The hero in Sichuan is the hardest, and he wants to be hammered across the north and south!
A banner was also pulled up with a rope in the middle: 80 for a big hammer, 40 for a small hammer, for ten days in a row. If you knock it over, you won’t be charged.
With such a wide arena and such high-profile words, a group of people gathered at once.
"First hard?"
"Want to be hammered? This is the first time I've seen such a request."
"A big hammer costs eighty, a small hammer costs forty? A big hammer costs 80 coins, and a small hammer costs 40 coins."
Look at the two hammers placed in front of the ring. One is almost as tall as a person, with a hammer head as big as a bull's head. There is also a small hammer that is nearly an arm's length, with a hammer head at least as big as a fist.
"Oh my god, this hammer hit someone so scary."
"What are you afraid of? The sledgehammer doesn't hit you, it hits that person."
With this sound, everyone fell silent and rushed to get closer. All eyes were focused on "Iron Zongzi" who slowly walked onto the ring.
"I... feel like my legs are filled with lead." Meng Biao took one step at a time. He noticed that the crowd's eyes were focused on him, and his steps became heavier.
More and more people came around, whether civilians or soldiers. Everyone had seen people breaking rocks, but never one who actively asked to be hammered like this.
"It's okay. There are soldiers with stone pillars and white poles who will come to support me. If they go up, they won't use too much force." Meng Biao, who was standing on the ring, secretly observed along the gap in his helmet.
I saw a team of men and women wearing dark blue outfits arriving next to the ring.
"As expected, we're here. Don't worry about being harsh." Meng Biao breathed a sigh of relief.
"Sell medicine and sell medicine! Shenwei Dali Pill, a powerful dragon and a tiger, specializes in treating deficiency of Qi and blood. After taking it, the mountain will collapse and the earth will split apart."
The white-armed soldiers excitedly took out the wound medicine and magic medicine and placed them on the medicine stall. Now that they are so short of money, they must seize the opportunity to do business.
"Well...the white-pole soldiers are indeed poor..."
Meng Biao pursed his lips, thinking that it would be okay, as he still had his own people to support him, especially brother Wang Hongyu who had the most ideas.
Wait a minute, where are the Wang brothers?
"Selling kidnappers!"
Wang Hongyu opened a stall nearby, placed a pair of crutches, placed them on the stall and started shouting loudly. This chapter has been completed!