When Zhu Yihai came out slightly drunk from Wang Chuang's drink, he met Shen Chenquan and Lin Shixiang looking up at the sky.
"Are you my dears admiring the sunset?"
"Your Highness!"
The two of them turned their heads and saluted when they heard the sound. Lin Shi, who had just been appointed as the prefect of Ningbo and was immediately promoted to the deputy envoy of the Zhejiang Prosecution Department and the sub-inspector of Ningshaotai Road and Taizhou Military Preparation Road, had a worried look on his face. A sign of fall!"
Shen Chenquan, who was highly regarded by Zhu Yihai and was appointed as the deputy censor of Qiandu, explained, "In recent days, after the sun sets, the red air suddenly rises from the west and rushes through the sky. This lasts for several days. This is a soldier. It is the sign of a rising body, the sign of a lying corpse, and the sign of bloodshed.”
"Ominous!"
Zhu Yihai also looked up to the west. The sunset was all over the sky, as if it had burned down half of the sky. It was very gorgeous.
"I only know a folk proverb: If you don't go out at dawn, the sunset will travel a thousand miles. The sunset covers half of the sky. It seems that it will be very convenient for us to travel north tomorrow."
"Your Highness, I think this is a warning from heaven, and I would like to ask Your Highness to change your mind and not go to Shaoxing." Shen Chenquan still had the same attitude. Zhu Yihai is now the supervisor of the country. The supervisor is the king of a country. How can he easily risk his life and go to the front line?
But what Zhu Yihai had decided long ago could not be easily changed.
"I don't know much about celestial phenomena and divination, but even if it's true as you said, it doesn't matter. In today's world, there are weapons and wars everywhere. Where can there be a quiet place? There have been wars in this world for so many years, and there are so many victims. More than tens of millions, the blood of the people of the Ming Dynasty will all be drained, so the celestial phenomenon is correct, it is indeed a sign of bloodshed, but are we afraid of bloodshed?"
"One inch of mountains and rivers, one inch of blood, one hundred thousand young men and one hundred thousand soldiers!"
"You are all determined to resist the Qing Dynasty, so let's face each other head on and let the storm come more violently!"
The two talented men who had both stayed in the Hanlin Academy could not help but be inspired by the lofty ideals of the Supervisor.
Later, the words of Lu Jianguo and the two ministers spread. Everyone who was still hesitant at first couldn't help but be excited after hearing this, especially the civil servants and gentry such as Qian Sule, who originally insisted on going north to the Jianguo. There are still some objections, but now I feel that with the situation of the country, there is nothing to hesitate and worry about.
Qian Sule even proposed to lead the recovery battalion north to Shaoxing despite his still weak health.
In the city of Ningbo, the local tyrants and evil gentry who had just been severely beaten for their weakness and capitulation to the enemy were relieved. Although the Supervisor of the State had ordered that the Banner Battalion be responsible for recruiting, there was no riot or robbery.
But the people in the flag-bearer camp were not polite and tried to persuade them to donate, but in fact they were just forcing them to donate half.
Soldiers are blocking the door and pointing swords and guns at each other. Can you not donate?
Let’s see what happens to the richest man Xie Sanbin?
I can only donate. The only thing I can be happy about is that the flag-bearer camp is really polite and does not take advantage of the situation. It does not bully the women in the family. As long as each family honestly hands over half of the fields to the prison king's village, and then hands over half of the gold and silver. , that’s it.
They will even issue a detailed list of stipends, and then give them a stipend recognition plaque.
But everyone is always uneasy. They have long been accustomed to the domineering warriors, and now they are not used to the sudden politeness. They are even more worried that this is just superficial, and they may find a reason to persuade them to donate or borrow money later.
Now that we are finally leaving, everyone can have a peaceful sleep.
Many poor people in Ningbo rushed to sign up to join the army. Some of them were slow to receive news. They didn't know that the recruitment was over. They just arrived. There were farmers in the suburbs, miners in the mountains, woodcutter, fishermen on the seaside, sailors on ships, and store clerks. etc.
They all heard that the Jianguo was recruiting soldiers and receiving generous remuneration.
I heard that many people received five taels of silver reward, and even paid one month's full salary in advance, and paid one month's salary in advance. They actually had six or seven taels of silver in their hands. Who wouldn't be jealous after hearing this?
It's a pity that they arrived late.
Zhu Yihai was not willing to turn someone into a soldier, let alone recruit a bunch of rabble.
Having elite soldiers rather than large numbers, and casually packing up a hundred or eighty thousand soldiers will not only have a good name, but it will be of no use on the battlefield. On the contrary, it will be a way to defeat.
Facing these people who came to worship, Zhu Yihai was somewhat self-aware, knowing that these people may not be really loyal to the emperor. After all, although the literacy rate of the Ming Dynasty can be said to be the highest in the history, this is still ancient times and most of them
Most of the people at the bottom are illiterate, many of them have never left a radius of a hundred miles in their lives, and many people have never even been to the county town in their lives.
They are knowledgeable and knowledgeable. Although they are also influenced by traditional culture, after all, people only know etiquette if they have enough talent.
The most important thing for these people who came from all over the world was to be paid generously as soldiers, and many of them just wanted to have enough food to eat. If Zhu Yihai had not come, but Xie Sanbin and others had ushered in the Qing army, the Qing army would have paid generous
When recruiting soldiers with pay, I'm afraid most people will rush to sign up.
"The people are sincere and loyal, and I feel deeply guilty. Qian Gong and Ge Gong, please immediately set up the porridge shed and set up the pot to cook porridge, so that the people who come will have a hot meal first, and then inform them properly.
, We are no longer recruiting new soldiers for the time being. Let everyone return home and settle down in their own jobs. Remember to explain to everyone the exemption of past years’ tax arrears and the exemption of this year’s land tax that I announced earlier.”
When Lin Shi was promoted to Deputy Envoy of the Inspection Bureau and was responsible for patrolling Ningshaotai Road and Taizhou Military Preparation Road, the Ningbo magistrate awarded him the title to Ge Shizhen.
"I will definitely appease the people."
"Well, I'll leave now!"
The 2nd Yongwei Battalion opened the way, the 3,000 Battalion and the 5th Military Battalion were guarding on both sides, the Shenji Battalion and the Flag Bearer Battalion were in the middle, the Zhejiang Zhenbiao Battalion was at the rear, and the Sixth Battalion left the city in a mighty manner.
People gathered around to watch.
Zhang Mingzhen even rode on his horse, exposed the four words "Serve the Country with a Heart" on his back, and shouted loudly such heroic words as heading north to the Central Plains and vowing to go straight to Huanglong.
The sixth battalion has a full strength of 6,000 men, 4,800 soldiers, and 1,200 men. In addition, there are many rural gentlemen from Ningbo who went north with them. Many of them were originally officials of the imperial court, and some were candidates who had not yet entered officialdom.
This time, Zhu Yihai used a large number of people to enrich his temporary small court team.
Many candidates were given the status of Jinshi, and scholars gave them status and official positions. This move had a good effect. Originally, there were only a small number of gentry in Ningbo who were dedicated to resisting the Qing Dynasty. But after Zhu Yihai was so bold and generous,
Basically, most of the gentry in Ningbo came to serve under him.
The group of gentry heading north is very large. These former officials or noble men who are scholars are now traveling north, and they also bring their children, nephews, brothers, or servants to protect them. Some of them also take their elders and book boys with them, and some even take them with them.
For concubines and maids.
Lao Zhu did not stop them, but asked them not to go with the Sixth Battalion, but to follow them.
Those who enter the military camp with a chariot, no matter what official position they hold, are not allowed to bring slaves with them, let alone women, let alone ride in a car or sedan chair. At most, they are allowed to ride horses and mules.
Walking on the outskirts of the city, the sun is scorching hot.
In the middle of June in the south of the Yangtze River, the rice fields are golden at this time. It is the summer harvest season. Even the rice seedlings in the rice fields are already green. The busiest double harvest season is coming.
Only half a day after leaving the city, the squire team with numerous carriages and horses was already far behind.
Ma Jixiang, the guerrilla general of the Second Battalion of the Brave Guards who opened the way, galloped over on his beloved five-flowered horse and said, "Your Highness, there is a situation."
Zhu Yihai didn't like Ma Jixiang very much. This man was still very famous in the history of the Southern Ming Dynasty, but he was neither a literary scholar nor a military commander.
A famous traitor in the court.
He had gained power earlier by relying on the eunuch Gao Qiqian, and before that he relied on Pang Tianshou. The reason why Zhu Yihai still kept him in charge of the Second Battalion of Yongwei was just because the people of the second battalion were recruited by Pang Tianshou and Ma Jixiang in Guangdong.
Got up.
There were no mistakes or omissions for the time being, so Zhu Yihai didn't want to replace it, so he observed and used it first.
After observing for a while, Zhu Yihai discovered that Ma Jixiang actually has some abilities. For example, the Second Battalion of Yongwei has actually gone through several rounds of reorganization, but this guy has the ability to hold the second battalion firmly in his hands.
, he has a strong prestige in the camp.
Another example is Ma Jixiang, who accompanied him all the way to the east. He was very good at camp and had a good relationship with everyone. Even Wang Zhiren, Zhang Mingzhen and others got along very well with him.
The tasks assigned to me on a daily basis are also completed quickly and well.
Now that Zhu Yihai was in trouble, there was no rush to replace him, and there was no suitable person to replace him in charge of the Yongwei Second Battalion.
"What's the matter?"
"The forward patrol of the Second Battalion of my Yongying Battalion got the news that a rebel army came from the direction of Guanhaiwei and looted the countryside everywhere. Countless people are fleeing to Ningbo Fucheng!"
Zhu Yihai became angry when he heard this.
"more specific?"
Ma Jixiang came well prepared and immediately said, "According to the general's investigation, these rebels were led by Chen Wu, the former Jiaxing commander-in-chief. They crossed the sea from Jiaxing and landed along the coast of Guanhaiwei. After landing, they went to plunder."
"Jiaxing Commander-in-Chief Chen Wu?"
"This man's ancestral home is Chen Xi, Shangyu, Shaoxing. His elder brother Chen Jun once served as the Yunnan Commander-in-Chief and the Guangdong Commander-in-Chief. During the Chongzhen period, he went to Liaodong to campaign. When the Hongguang Emperor was established, he was awarded the title of Jiaxing Commander-in-Chief and the seal of General Dingyuan." Ma Jixiang reported.
Of.
"A real General Soldier, or a fake General Soldier?"
Ma Jixiang suggested, "I heard that General Chen and his brother are called dragons and tigers among men, and Chen Wu is brave and brave. It is better to send someone to convey the order and appease them."
"How many rebels did Chen Wu lead to plunder the countryside?" Zhu Yihai asked.
"It is said that there are tens of thousands of people."
When Zhu Yihai heard this, he became even more angry, "There is a dignified military officer in charge of the town, with tens of thousands of troops under his command. He does not worry about being able to help you, but fights thieves for the country, but he is defeated and runs away, causing harm to the countryside? How can we talk about recruiting such scum?"
"
Wang Zhiren, Zhang Mingzhen and others also came after hearing the news.
Wang Zhiren once served as the commander-in-chief of Su Song, and he was a neighbor of Chen Wu. He knew this person relatively well. At this time, he also suggested that Chen Wu should be summoned with a decree.
The more than ten thousand troops under his command can naturally be used by the prison country.
But Zhu Yihai had a dark face.
"Your Highness, General Chen has retreated from Jiaxing, so he can only collect food on the spot, which is also an expedient measure."
"Expedient measure? You just heard that Chen Wu's army was not simply requisitioning food, but looting. He not only looted the countryside, but even attacked the county town, burning, killing, looting, and doing all kinds of evil. This is the army of the Ming Dynasty.
Really? They are worse than the Tartars!"
"Your Highness, let's recruit him first and then talk about it. As long as Chen Wu is promoted to a higher position, he will be happy to accept the imperial edict."
Several generals were a little surprised. Chen Wu's men were regular soldiers of the Ming Dynasty, but now they are deserters who can do anything. The Ming Dynasty has been in chaos in recent years, and most of them are guardsmen who cannot survive.
A rebellion, or simply a mutiny by soldiers from the border army camp who were owed wages?
