Yongli Ming Dynasty

Chapter 10 Military Power
On the official road, several riders came galloping, raising a cloud of dust behind them.

The man in the lead was middle-aged, with a burly figure, wearing a red military uniform with narrow sleeves, and a longbow and a sharp sword hanging on the side of his horse. It was Li Mingzhong, the general of Wuzhou in the Ming Dynasty.

Behind Li Mingzhong were several family servants and guards. The horses behind them were carrying sika deer, rabbits, doves and other prey. They had obviously just returned from hunting.

After walking for a while, a large military camp suddenly appeared in front of us.

Two soldiers holding long spears leaned against the wooden wall of the camp with their spears in their arms, squinting their eyes, lazily basking in the sun.
The gatekeeper heard the sound of horse hooves, opened his eyes and looked into the distance. When he found that it was his general, he stood up and stood guard on both sides of the camp gate with his spear, looking very focused.
Li Mingzhong ignored the two soldiers at the camp gate and rode straight into the camp.
On the military training ground, there were weapons for training strength, such as swords, spears, halberds, stone locks, etc.

There were a lot of people on the training ground, but most of them were gathered in groups of three or four, chatting and laughing under the shade of trees.

Seeing Li Mingzhong riding into the camp, they scattered and each took a long gun and stood in the camp, pretending to stab a few times. Some simply held the gun and stood there blankly, and it was unclear whether they were standing at attention or daydreaming.

In a remote corner nearby, a group of soldiers gathered together, occasionally shouting. From the crowd, the clanging of dice cups could be heard faintly. It was obvious that they were gambling.

"You bunch of bastards, you're itching to be whipped, right? Today, all of you will practice for an hour. If you don't finish, I'll show you how I'll deal with you."

Li Mingzhong jumped off his horse and swung his whip on the ground, making a crisp sound. The soldiers then realized that their commander had returned and immediately dispersed and ran to the parade ground.

Li Mingzhong cursed a few times in a low voice, and told the soldiers behind him to send the prey to the kitchen. Then he walked towards the main tent of the army, cursing.
When Li Mingzhong walked into the tent, his figure disappeared. The soldiers who were pretending to be serious on the parade ground immediately collapsed, fanned themselves with their right hands, and hid under the shade of the trees to cool off.
Li Mingzhong walked into the main tent. Several generals in military uniforms were already sitting in the camp. He put his whip on the table, sat on the main seat, and said to the people below:
"How is it? Has the Governor's Office delivered this month's food and wages?"

"They did send it, but they only sent two thousand taels of silver and five hundred dan of grain and fodder."

On the left side below, a young man who looked somewhat like Li Mingzhong spoke up.

This man was called Li Chengzhi, Li Mingzhong's nephew. He was the chief of the camp. Because he had attended a private school for a few years and could read, and was a member of Li Mingzhong's family, he was in charge of the food and logistics of the camp.

"Why is it so little? This amount is not enough for us to chew for half a month. How can it be enough?"

Before Li Mingzhong could say anything, a burly general with a leopard head and round eyes started shouting.

This man is called Yang Yandi. He is a lieutenant general under Li Mingzhong. He is a fierce general on the battlefield, but he is also a reckless person.

"General, we have 6,000 soldiers in our camp, and the monthly salary alone is 6,000 taels. The most important thing is food and fodder. Even if we calculate it at a lower level, each person gets one catty per day, which is 180,000 catties per month, and at least 1,200 dan per month. The brothers are used to less salary, but if there is not enough food and fodder, there will definitely be trouble in the camp."

Another middle-aged man with a refined face spoke in a deep voice. This man was a capable general under Li Mingzhong, named Deng Yao, and was also the lieutenant general in the camp.
Deng Yao was in charge of Li Mingzhong's military camp affairs, so he was very familiar with the situation in the camp.

"General, why don't you go to the Governor's Office to discuss it again? The price of grain in the area around Zhaoqing is extremely high now. At the very least, we have to ask the Governor's Office to provide enough grain and grass," Deng Yao said again.
"Shang, that guy Ding wants to recruit 6,000 people for just a few thousand taels. He must be blinded by this."

Li Mingzhong was already upset, so he went out hunting to relax. When he heard Deng Yao mention the Guangdong and Guangxi Governor's Office, he could no longer bear it and started cursing.

Their battalion was originally ordered by the Longwu Dynasty to set out from Guangxi to rescue Jiangxi Province, but halfway through, the Longwu Emperor died, and the city in Jiangxi Province that they were supposed to rescue was also captured by the Qing army, so they had to stop halfway.

It stands to reason that they were marching according to the imperial court's orders, and the places along the way were naturally obliged to provide them with food and wages. The Governor-General's Office of Guangdong and Guangxi, as the head of the two provinces, naturally had to supply them with food, but Ding Kuichu made things difficult for them.

Li Mingzhong had also looked for Ding Kuichu at first, and even gave him some silver. In the Ming Dynasty, everyone would pass the military pay to Ding Kuichu after it was issued. Li Mingzhong was used to it and did the same.
But after several contacts, he found that Ding Kuichu not only wanted money, but also wanted his men.
The thief surnamed Ding was also willing to transfer grain, but on the premise that the Governor-General's Office of Guangdong and Guangxi would send someone to the camp to supervise the army. In the future, the grain and grass sent by the Governor-General's Office to the army would be controlled by this supervisor. In addition, the Governor-General's Office would also send someone to the camp to supervise the generals.

This is obviously to seize Li Mingzhong's military power.

The grain and grass are under the control of the military supervisor, and there are military officers from the Governor's Office in the camp to share power. There are 20,000 troops from the Governor's Office outside to suppress them. What will Li Mingzhong do when the time comes?
Li Mingzhong is already a veteran military leader. Over the past decade, he has traveled from Liaodong to the Central Plains, and from the Central Plains to Guangxi Province, covering most of the Ming Dynasty. He has also come to realize that this is already an era of chaos.

In this world, no amount of money or official position is as reliable as the military power in one's hands. Not to mention a few thousand taels, even if he was given 100,000 taels, he would not hand over the military power in his hands.
If you have soldiers, you will have money. If you have money, you will have food. If you have soldiers, money and food, you will have high positions and generous salaries. No matter who is the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, they have to win him over, give him an official position and make a wish for him.

"We have fought so many wars for the imperial court, and yet they even dare to owe us our salaries. I think this so-called new imperial court is no different from the Longwu Dynasty and it won't last long," Yang Yandi started yelling again.

But everyone was silent at this time and ignored him. To be honest, they were all people who had retreated from Liaodong to the interior after the fall of Liaodong.

If they had not still some loyalty to the Ming Dynasty, they would have joined the Tartars long ago.

But after returning to the interior of the country, and witnessing the various struggles for power and factionalism in the court, everyone's minds began to fade. Now everyone just wants to protect their own army and find a rich and prosperous future for the brothers in the camp.

"In my opinion, we should just break camp and go back to Guangxi Province. If they don't want us here, we can find other places to stay. If we stay here, we will just be bullied by them. These bastards really think they are important people. I won't serve them anymore."

Seeing that no one was talking, Yang Yandi continued to yell.
Their jurisdiction is in Guangxi Province. They cannot get money and grain in Guangdong Province, but in Guangxi Province, they have the final say.

"No!" Before anyone could say anything, Li Chengzhi spoke loudly.

"Right now, the court officials are discussing the establishment of a new emperor. Since ancient times, following the emperor is the most important merit. We must not leave Guangdong Province at this time. Even if we want to leave, we must wait until the new emperor ascends the throne, so that our hard work will not be in vain."

"good"

Li Mingzhong slammed the table and stood up suddenly

"It's OK that I didn't make it to Nanjing last time, but now the new emperor is right under my nose, I can't let him go no matter what. I have nearly 10,000 troops under my command, so the emperor will have to make me an earl at least."

"I've been conferred the title of Earl, and you guys have to get promoted too. Let's get promoted in Guangdong Province, and then go back to Guangxi Province to make a fortune."

Li Mingzhong waved his sleeves and said loudly, everyone's eyes suddenly lit up, and Yang Yandi even cheered loudly.

"What about the food and wages in the camp? Although the wages can be delayed, we still have to give some to the brothers. The remaining food and wages, no matter how much we save, will not last until the end of the month." When Deng Yao said this, everyone in the camp had a worried look on their faces. Even if they didn't take the two thousand taels of silver, it would not be enough for the wages. But at least everyone in the camp could still get some.
But the problem is that after they were issued silver, they had no more money to buy food and fodder.
"I still have some private money in my account. Let's go get some food and grass. We can't let the brothers in the camp go hungry no matter what," Li Mingzhong gritted his teeth and said.

This was the only solution. If the camp ran out of food, they would probably start a riot. Fortunately, they also had spies in the city and knew that the ministers in the city had already begun to persuade them to ascend the throne. Within a month at most, the new court would be established.
As long as this month passes and they get the title from the new court, they can leave immediately.

Just as Li Mingzhong finished speaking, there was a sound of footsteps outside the door. A personal soldier hurried into the tent with a serious expression on his face.
The guard did not greet the crowd, but walked directly to Li Mingzhong and whispered a few words in his ear.

After hearing this, Li Mingzhong's expression changed instantly and his brows knitted tightly.
When everyone saw Li Mingzhong's expression suddenly change, they also knew that something urgent might have happened, so they looked at each other and stood up together. Deng Yao took the lead and said,
"Since the general has important matters to attend to, we will go down to take care of the camp affairs first and will not disturb the general."

Li Mingzhong waved his hand to stop the generals who were about to leave the camp, and then gave orders to his personal soldiers.

"Take good care of that person, and don't let the killers in the camp bump into him. Just tell them that I'm not in the camp and I'm looking for him. Don't let him leave without my permission."

The guards took the order and withdrew. Then Li Mingzhong ordered several soldiers waiting in the camp to withdraw as well. Soon, only a few important generals in the camp were left in the tent.

Everyone looked at each other, knowing that something important might have happened, so they sat down and waited for Li Mingzhong to speak.

"You are all brothers. We have fought countless battles all the way from north to south. We are all friends who have risked our lives for each other. Now I have something to discuss with you."

"General, please speak," Li Chengzhi continued

"Just now a man came to the camp, claiming to be the guard of the Guiwang Palace, saying that the Guiwang wanted me to go to the palace to see him. What do you think I should go or not?" Li Mingzhong looked at the people in front of him calmly.
"King Gui, but that King Gui," Deng Yao's face changed slightly and he asked

"Which Gui King is there now? It's the Gui King in the city," Li Mingzhong said calmly.
Li Mingzhong sent some spies into the city. Although they could not find any confidential information, it was not difficult to find out ordinary information. Therefore, these people were not completely ignorant of the city.

The ministers in the city have been discussing the establishment of a new dynasty these days, and the one to be established is the King of Gui.
Why did the King of Gui invite their general to the King of Gui's Mansion at this time?

Everyone had different expressions on their faces, and some were at a loss. Li Chengzhi, Deng Yao and others had already realized that the King of Gui was trying to win them over, but the question now was whether they wanted to be won over by the King of Gui.
Thinking of the many senior officials gathered in the city, and the 20,000 troops stationed at the Governor's Office outside Zhaoqing City, they all frowned and remained silent for a long time.
Seeing that everyone suddenly fell silent, Yang Yandi looked unhappy and couldn't help but shout:

"What are you talking about? You are so fussy, just like those people in the city with big headscarves. It's so unpleasant."

"What King Gui? Where did this prince come from? Is he trying to get our brothers to build a palace for him? We can't afford to offend them. If it were me, I would just kick him out. What kind of prince is this..."

"Don't talk nonsense, you idiot!" Deng Yao's face suddenly changed when he heard this, and he shouted at him.

Although they are both lieutenant generals, Deng Yao has the highest seniority in the camp. He is both civil and military, and is a true deputy general in the camp.

Yang Yandi was often punished by Deng Yao for his misbehavior. Seeing Deng Yao was really angry, he did not dare to say much. He just mumbled something.

It was just Yang Yandi's nonsense that brought everyone back to their senses.
"Do you think I should go to see the King of Gui?" Li Mingzhong said
"At this moment, if I go to see the King of Gui, Ding Kuichu will be jealous of me, and the officials in the court will probably make a lot of noise. Since we have already decided to return to the west, we should not wade into this muddy water."

"When the new dynasty is established, we will receive our rewards and return directly to our territory. Those civil officials are very powerful and can kill people without spilling blood with just a few words."

Li Chengzhi frowned and thought for a moment, and finally said
"What Chengzhi said makes sense, but the King of Gui is the future emperor. If we don't go now, we will definitely offend the King of Gui. When the King of Gui ascends the throne, how will we deal with it?" Deng Yao said.
Li Chengzhi, who was standing by, frowned after hearing this. No one in the tent spoke, and they all felt that the situation was difficult.
If they went there, they would definitely cause dissatisfaction to Ding Kuichu, who had a large army under his command and was not far from them.

But if they don't go, they will offend the future emperor. No one knows what will happen to them in the future.

Although the world is in chaos now, although they have thousands of veteran soldiers who dare to fight, and although there are a hundred reasons for them to think that the Ming Dynasty may not be able to survive, in the final analysis, that is the emperor.

When they were not facing each other, they thought that the emperor was nothing, but now that they really faced each other, they immediately felt suffocated.

When Li Mingzhong heard this, his brows furrowed.
When Yang Yandi heard this, a look of astonishment flashed across his face.
"My goodness, it turns out that the King of Gui is the Emperor of the new dynasty. I was wondering why he asked us to build a house for him. General, why don't we go and build a house? Once we build a palace for the Emperor, he will be so happy that he will confer the title of Marquis on us brothers. Then we will all be Marquises, so why would we be afraid of Ding Toushi?"

Yang Yandi's eyes turned, and a glimmer of hope suddenly flashed across his face.
Who doesn't want to be a noble or a prime minister? That's something that brings honor to the family. We have fought for so many years, killing Tartars and bandits. Isn't this what we want?
Everyone in the field burst into laughter when they heard Yang Yandi's words, leaving Yang Yandi confused.
"What are you laughing at? Is there anything wrong with what I said?" Yang Yandi glared at him with some dissatisfaction.

"You are such a jerk, you want to be a marquis? Take a look in the mirror, how do you think you look like a marquis?"

The lieutenant general Yi Zhi laughed and joked

"I have killed more than a dozen Tartars, so I am no less than a marquis. Are you looking for trouble?"

Yang Yandi was immediately furious and glared at Yi Zhi, but Yi Zhi ignored him.
"Okay, stop laughing, we are discussing serious matters," Deng Yaoqing coughed, and everyone stopped laughing.
"There are pros and cons to going or not going. We will all listen to the general on this matter. We will do whatever the general says."

Li Chengzhi and Deng Yao looked at each other and then said
"Go, why not go"

Li Mingzhong frowned and thought for a moment, then suddenly slapped the table and spoke loudly

"I am a military official of the state. What's wrong with me meeting the future new emperor? Besides, the emperor personally invited me. What's there to be afraid of?"

Li Mingzhong's eyes flashed with a gleam of brilliance. The King of Gui obviously wanted to win over these thousands of people, so why not go and meet him first? It wouldn't cost him anything anyway. Whether he agreed or not, the initiative was on his side.

Besides, wasn't Ding Kuichu holding back their military rations? If they went to see the new emperor this time, maybe Ding Kuichu would deliver the military rations himself.

If it really doesn't work, then at worst, as I said at the beginning, he won't even want the title, and will just move his camp back to Guangxi Province. He can attack or defend, so why doesn't he go?

There is a strange thing. The background shows that someone has voted for a monthly ticket, but I can't see the name of the voter. I don't know what's going on.
Four thousand words chapter

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(End of this chapter)