Yongli Ming Dynasty

Chapter 201 Preaching
In the barracks at the East Parade Ground in Guangzhou, Ma Bao sat on the main seat. On his left were Ta Xin Ce, Li Gui, Ma Ying Yuan and other generals. On his right were Hao Shang Jiu and Yan Keyi.
Li Chengdong was defeated and almost all the generals in the army were captured. Li Yuanyin, Du Yong and other direct descendants of Li Chengdong were naturally unforgivable, but Hao Shangjiu and Yan Keyi were saved by Ma Bao.
Ma Bao had no choice but to save Hao Shangjiu and the other two. Previously, Ma Bao had only 1,000 soldiers, and there were only two or three generals in the camp. Now that he was suddenly in charge of more than 6,000 Tengxiang troops, Ma Bao could not even gather enough suitable generals.
Ma Bao's selection of Hao Shangjiu and the other two was not a random decision. Hao Shangjiu and the other two were originally from the Ming army and were not valued by Li Chengdong. Moreover, the two had a good relationship with Ma Bao before, so they were rescued by Ma Bao and placed in the army as generals.
Ma Bao glanced at the people below and said

"The imperial court is about to invade Fujian Province and will set out the day after tomorrow. How are the camps preparing?"

"General, rest assured. The military order has been issued to the army. Everything in the camp has been prepared. As long as the court gives the order, we can set out at any time."

Ta Xin Ce replied, Ma Bao nodded slightly and continued

"We are the newly established Tengxiang Army. I don't know how many people in the imperial army are watching us. This time, His Highness ordered us to be the vanguard of the army and lead the way. We must not make any mistakes. Do you understand?"

Everyone in the field was startled. To put it nicely, the Tengxiang Army was a newly built army, but to put it bluntly, it was just a group of surrendered soldiers. Except for Ma Bao and others, they were still attacking the city outside half a month ago. How could the people in the court not be wary of them?

Hao Shangjiu on the right also spoke after hearing this.

"Don't worry, Commander. Although our army is newly established, most of the soldiers in the camp are veterans with many years of service. They are experienced in the military and will never make any mistakes."

Upon hearing this, Ma Bao nodded slightly. The soldiers in the Tengxiang Army were originally soldiers from the Tong and Li armies. With the help of old generals like Hao Shangjiu to comfort the commander, the camp has now settled down after the initial panic. This is why he dared to take the command of the vanguard.
Ma Bao glanced at the field, but found that the first seat on the left was empty. He frowned and said

"Where is Chen Qi Ce, the military supervisor?"

Although the imperial court gave Chen Qice and his men the title of "Education Envoy", the soldiers in the army were still used to calling them "Military Supervisors".
In fact, Chen Qice and his men were indeed doing the work of military supervisors, and their jurisdiction was even broader than that of previous military supervisors.
"After General Chen came back from the city yesterday to discuss matters, he and the other missionaries went down to the army to inform the soldiers about the fight for Fujian."

When everyone mentioned Chen Qice, the atmosphere in the account suddenly became heavy. Hao Shangjiu hesitated for a moment, but couldn't help but speak.

"Commander-in-chief, I dare not question the arrangements of the imperial court, but Chen Jianjun and his men are really too lenient."

"Nowadays, every hundred soldiers in the army have a supervisor. They are responsible for collecting the rice and grain in the army and distributing the soldiers' wages. In their free time every day, these supervisors even teach the soldiers in the camp to read."

"We are here to serve as soldiers and fight, not to take the imperial examination. Commander-in-chief, I really don't understand what the court wants to do by sending these military supervisors."

All the generals in the field nodded when they heard this. They had seen many military supervisors before, but in the past, whether in the Ming or Qing dynasties, there were only one or two military supervisors. How could they send more than 60 people to supervise the army at once?
What they could not stand the most was that these military supervisors directly controlled the money and food in the army. In the past, whether in the Ming or Qing dynasties, the money and food of the imperial court were first distributed to these generals, who then distributed them to the soldiers in the camp.
But now the rice, grain and silver sent by the court are all handled by these military supervisors. After receiving the money and grain, these military supervisors actually give it directly to the soldiers.

However, the commanders of the various camps could no longer handle the money and food sent by the court as before. How could they bear this?
If they could not handle money and food, how could they eat empty salaries and drink the blood of soldiers? Moreover, after these military supervisors came, the generals in the camp felt as if there were spies from the court everywhere, which made them extremely uncomfortable.
Ma Bao looked at the generals below who were dissatisfied, and was silent for a moment before speaking.

"Have you ever found that these military supervisors have embezzled money and food?"

Hao Shangjiu and the others were stunned when they heard this, and then they said

"That's not the case. After these military supervisors handle the money and grain, they will report to us with the accounts. The purchased rice, grain, vegetables and meat are all distributed to the soldiers. There is no embezzlement." "If that's the case, then why are you dissatisfied? The court has paid your military salaries, and the court has also paid the soldiers' salaries. There is no shortage of rice and grain, and every soldier in the army can have a full meal. What else do you want?"

The generals were stunned when they heard this, but they still looked dissatisfied. They didn't believe that Ma Bao didn't know what they were talking about. It was just that Ma Bao didn't say anything about these things, so how could they dare to say anything?
Ma Bao glanced at the people below, his expression became serious, and he said

"I know what you are thinking. You are unhappy because you don't have money and food."

"But I warn you, this missionary system was set by His Highness himself. No one can change it unless His Highness speaks up."

"You are also the commander of a battalion. If you are really brave, you can submit a petition to His Highness and ask the court to abolish the missionary system. If you don't have the courage, then just cooperate with the missionaries."

Hao Shangjiu and the others were all stunned when they heard this. Didn't they bring this up today just to let Ma Bao, the general, take the lead? The general Ma Bao, the commander of the army, would be the most affected.
Ma Bao said that they should submit a petition themselves, but how could Hao Shangjiu and others have the courage to do such a thing? A general of the army submitted a petition to the court, asking the court to abolish the military supervisor sent to the army. Isn't this just courting death?

Ma Bao ignored everyone's thoughts and spoke in a cold voice.

"Envoy Chen is not here today, so I'll just give you a heads up. Don't mess with your little tricks."

"That military envoy Chen is someone who can directly meet with His Highness. Yesterday, when he entered the city, he went straight to the palace. Where do you think he went to discuss matters?"

"Let me warn you first. If you catch these military supervisors embezzling food and wages, that's fine. But if you want to cause trouble because you're unhappy, and if you really create chaos, no one can protect you."

The generals were shocked when they heard what Ma Bao said. They had never thought that Chen Qi Ce, who usually treated everyone as a brother, actually had such a background.
Not to mention ordinary generals like them, even Ma Bao, the commander of the Tengxiang Army, had to submit a letter to the palace first if he wanted to see His Royal Highness the Regent.
But Chen Qi Ce was able to enter the palace directly to meet His Highness. I'm afraid even the ministers in the court don't have such power.
If they displeased this person, or were caught by him, as long as Chen Qice went to the palace and told them, wouldn't it be known to the world?
When everyone thought of this, their faces tightened.

Ma Ziyuan was sitting below Ma Yingyuan. Seeing the tense atmosphere, he changed the subject and said:

"Commander-in-chief, Military Supervisor Chen is now in the barracks informing the soldiers about the expedition to Fujian. The expedition will start the day after tomorrow. Do you want to invite Envoy Chen to discuss it further?"

"Everything that needs to be arranged has been arranged. There is nothing important, so please don't disturb General Chen."

Ma Bao thought for a moment, but suddenly asked about Chen Qice's whereabouts. After finding out Chen Qice's location, Ma Bao glanced at everyone in the field and suddenly spoke

"Since Envoy Chen is in the camp now, we might as well go and see how Envoy Chen informed the soldiers about the expedition to Fujian. What do you think?"

All the generals nodded when they heard this. Although the missionaries had been in the camp these days, teaching the soldiers to read and write every day, the generals just watched from the sidelines and did not go to check in person.
Now that everyone knew Chen Qice's identity, they became alert and wanted to see what this confidant sent by His Highness to the army was planning to do.

After everyone had made their decision, they left the tent and headed towards the training ground barracks.
(End of this chapter)