The goose-feather heavy snow was falling hard, and there was only a vast expanse of white outside the city of Qingzhou. In the deserted outskirts, the heavy snow had already fallen as deep as a child's knees.
At this time, Pang Gang had just returned from Lingshan Guard. Following him were Hua Yan, Wen Renjun, Meng Qing and other civil servants. Although they were all wearing thick winter clothes, their cheeks were still frozen.
Blushing red, when they entered Qingzhou City, Pang Gang stood still and said to everyone with a smile: "Okay, today is New Year's Eve, everyone should go back. If you don't go back home, the bride will be scolded."
"
'hehe……."
Everyone laughed, especially the way they looked at Wen Renjun was a little weird. Wen Renjun had just taken in a new concubine a few days ago, and it was the time of his wedding. Pang Gang said this, but there was something wrong with it.
Rejected.
Hua Yan was more serious and didn't say anything, but Meng Qing, who was more outgoing, joked: "Brother Wen, you are not young anymore. You have to do some activities at night, so don't let your waist wander."
"Hahaha" everyone laughed.
Wen Renjun, who has always been wild and open-minded, scratched his head in embarrassment at this time and said with a smile: "What do you know? It's better for you to know me, so I will go back to my humble position first."
'Go!' Pang Gang said with a smile: 'You have worked hard these days to resettle the refugees. I have given you permission to rest for three days and have a good time with your wife. However, I also want to warn you, don't do anything.
When you have a new love, forget about the bad wife."
As soon as Pang Gang finished speaking, Wen Renjun, who was about to mount his horse, slipped and almost fell off his horse. He turned around and said with a bitter smile: 'Sir, please don't say that. If my wife, who is in a humble position, hears this, she will be in big trouble."
Pang Gang couldn't help but burst out laughing, causing the snow on the trees on the roadside to fall down.
After smiling, Pang Gang stepped on the stirrup and jumped on the horse. He whipped the horse's back lightly with the riding whip. The big red horse under his crotch galloped towards the champion's palace. Behind him were dozens of people regardless of the situation.
Whenever Pang Gang went out, he was closely followed by his own soldiers.
It was already midnight when Pang Gang rode his horse and arrived at his mansion quickly. When the two sergeants guarding the door saw Pang Gang coming back, they quickly pushed open the door, which was frozen and stiff, and let Pang Gang and his party in.
When people came in, Pang Gang rode his horse to the door. Seeing the soldiers who were already covered with snow, he said kindly: "Okay, you can close the door after I enter. Today is New Year's Eve and hurry back to the camp."
Warm yourself up with a few drinks with the brothers."
‘Thank you, sir!”
The two sergeants bowed and thanked Pang Gang, a hint of gratitude flashed in their eyes. Pang Pang was still as considerate to his subordinates as before.
As Pang Gang and others entered, the door to the Champion's Mansion was slowly closed again, as if to keep out the cold.
Pang Gang got off his horse, handed the reins to Shi Bowen behind him, told him not to follow him, and went back to the camp to have a few drinks with his brothers, then strode towards the inner courtyard.
When Pang just arrived at the inner courtyard and opened the door, he felt a warm air blowing into his face, followed by the aroma of food. The festive atmosphere inside seemed to overflow and there was a lot of noise.
The hall was very lively at this time. Not only were Pang Gang's wives and concubines there, but also the father-in-laws Wei Sinian and Kong Wen, and their families were also present. The potbellied Kong Ruolan and
Wei Manyu, whose belly is slightly bulging, is talking to his father. There are three or four tables in the lobby, and more than a dozen maids and servants are busy serving food. Qiaoer and Ling'er, two concubines who were born as maids,
The attendants were busy directing the maids and servants, and were extremely busy.
Seeing Pang Gang returning, a chorus of voices suddenly sounded in the hall: "My husband is back!"
Pang Gang took off his cloak, handed it to a maid next to him, and then stepped forward to greet Wei Sinian and Kong Wen: 'The two father-in-laws are also back."
‘Chaodong, you are here too.
"When Wei Sinian and Kong Wen saw Pang Gang coming back, they also smiled and greeted him.
Pang Gang came to the two of them and sat down. Immediately, Chen Yuanyuan stood over, and cleverly tapped his back with a soft soft massage. Li Xuezhu also ran over and snuggled up next to Pang Gang, acting coquettishly: "Husband, you are really awesome too, New Year's Eve."
You’re so busy in your thirties, why don’t you go there after the New Year?”
Pang Gang pinched her nose lovingly and said: "She is one year older and still looks like a little child."
Although Li Xuezhu is a princess of North Korea, she is simple in nature, lively and cheerful, and gets along well with everyone, so everyone dotes on her. Everyone including Chen Yuanyuan, Kong Ruolan, and Wei Manting treat her as a little sister, so she
After marrying into Pang Mansion, my life was very carefree.
When she saw her husband come back after being out for a day, she couldn't help but throw herself into his arms and act like a baby. When she saw Pang Gang, she made fun of him, but she just clung to Pang Gang's arms. It took a long time before she got up. However, when she came back, she saw Chen Yuanyuan was in full swing.
Looking at her with half-smiling eyes, she remembered that there were others watching at this moment. She stood up shyly, came behind Pang Gang and beat her husband's back with Chen Yuanyuan.
Enjoying the service of his two wives and concubines, Pang Gang stretched out and said to Wei Sinian: "Father-in-law, please stay here for a few more days during the Chinese New Year. It won't be too late to go back after the fifteenth."
Wei Manyu, who was nestling next to Wei Sinian, also said: 'Yes, Dad, please stay a few more days this time and let your daughter fulfill her filial duty.
Wei Sinian stroked his beard and said with a smile: "You are contented to be husbands with distractions. There are so many things going on in Jinan. I won't worry if my father doesn't go back and keep an eye on me, especially since your husband has recently asked me to leave."
Expanding the military force will cause more things to happen."
Pang Gang smiled brightly and said: "It won't work if we don't expand the army. Our military strength is not large to begin with. Now that we have assigned 10,000 troops to be stationed in Luoyang and Kaifeng respectively, the troops we can use will be even less. I have estimated that
There may still be wars in the next year, so how can we do this without increasing our military strength?"
"Yes! There is going to be a war again." Wei Sinian sighed, not knowing whether he was feeling the uncertainty of the world or because his son-in-law finally met the court.
Seeing Wei Sinian's emotion, Pang Gang also smiled bitterly. Who can blame him? It happened to be a troubled time. In order not to drag a pig's tail on his head, in order not to be someone else's slave, there was nothing wrong with what he did. If he was
We traveled to the middle of the Ming Dynasty. Only ghosts took this road. Isn't it better to become a rich man with your own brains than anything else?
Seeing that the atmosphere was a bit dull, Wei Sinian changed the subject at the right time and said: "Chaodong, last time the imperial court sent Eunuch Ma to urge you to send troops, but you ignored him. Now the whole of Hubei has fallen, although there is nothing the imperial court can do now."
It can't help us, but we should have a countermeasure for this, otherwise our Ming Dynasty will be destroyed in the hands of those rogue bandits if this continues."
Pang Gang smiled bitterly: "There is no way around this. Our strength does not allow us to chase the bandits all the way. That is not realistic. Think about it, if we go to Hubei today to suppress the bandits and drive the bandits out of Hubei."
, Tomorrow the emperor dares to let us go to Si, to suppress bandits, and the day after tomorrow he dares to let us go to Shanhaiguan to fight the Tatars. No matter how big our family is, we are not enough to spend so much! Although the emperor gave his son-in-law a champion and a post.
He gave us the title of General Seal, but did not mention anything about food, grass, or equipment. He is treating us like fools. Do you think my son-in-law can agree?"
Wei Sinian stroked his beard, nodded and said: "Yes, it is not easy for us to accumulate this little wealth. If we really listen to the emperor, our family wealth will be squandered in less than a year. But what I am worried about is that thieves will take over."
After arriving in Hubei, they will use Hubei as their base. Once they gain a foothold in Hubei, it will be difficult for us to deal with them in the future."
Pang Gang smiled contemptuously: "Don't worry, father-in-law, Li Zicheng's gang of thieves will not have that kind of intention. They are all good at killing people and arson, but when it comes to recuperating, they have to learn for another hundred years."
Pang Gang was very sure of this. The bandits headed by Li Zicheng were mainly farmers in northern Shaanxi, mainly in the Yan'an area, where there are high mountains and dense forests, and banditry has been constant in history.
At the end of the Ming Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty suffered from severe droughts for several years. The bandits who initially emerged to prey on the wealthy households could number tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of people within ten months. The bandits also gathered and dispersed indefinitely, using pseudonyms.
For example, the six and seven teams each had thirty to forty thousand people. In the 56th year of Chongzhen's reign, Gao Yingxiang gathered hundreds of thousands of people and rolled forward, while the three to two thousand officers and soldiers did not dare to move forward.
When the bandits march, there are women, old and young in the middle of the team, and men and women on the outside. The cavalry forms the outer defense line. When they move, the sky and the earth are covered with dust. The bandits come under the threat of the entire village and clan. If there is anyone who does not obey, they will be punished.
There is no doubt that they will die. If they don’t starve to death, they will be eaten. In Shaanxi, there is no essential difference between refugees and bandits. They are both trying to survive. There is no other way. Shaanxi has a population of three to four million, and only one or two hundred bandits form it.
Thousands, mainly due to years of severe drought. The government was incompetent and the officials were ineffective. In addition, Chongzhen was incompetent in governing the country. Due to the lack of precious metals such as silver, the court indiscriminately invented money, causing inflation and wasting paper.
In order to survive, the bandits are like locusts, eating wherever they go. Not even grass roots are left wherever they go. It is sheer fantasy to allow these people to develop farming with peace of mind, just like letting a sow climb a tree.
Night story.
Li Zicheng and others lacked foresight. Although there were one or two people in the army who had long-term vision, such as Li Yan, after all, he was humble and could not convince Li Zicheng and the bandits who only knew how to fight guerrillas.
Therefore, Pang Gang expected that after Li Zicheng wiped out Hubei as he had done in history, the main force would move to Hunan or Shaanxi. This was in line with the habits of rogue bandits.
After listening to Pang Gang's explanation, Wei Sinian nodded happily and said: 'Your idea makes sense. As for your idea, I have a little understanding of it. I'm afraid your current military expansion is to prepare for the occupation of Henan and Hubei later this year, right?"
Pang Gang laughed after hearing this: "The one who knows me is my father-in-law!" (To be continued by He Wan)
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