Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 292 Sanshandun

Weiyuanwei belonged to Datong Prefecture and was under the jurisdiction of Datong Town, one of the nine important border towns.

Weiyuanwei is close to Taiyuan Town, and its location is relatively inconspicuous among border towns. It is mainly responsible for the Great Wall line north of Weiyuanwei, including Yunyoubao, Sanshandun, and Weipingbao. Among them, Sanshandun on the west has a beacon tower and is located adjacent to the border.

The Ming border troops set up beacon towers everywhere on the border. These beacon towers were basically based on the Great Wall, and many were directly set up on the Great Wall.

According to the military setup of the Ming Dynasty, generally speaking, there were not many people setting up a beacon tower, usually less than ten people, and as few as five or six people.

These people are usually led by a sergeant as a low-ranking officer, and the rest are ordinary soldiers. They are stationed on the beacon tower all year round. Once they find the enemy, they will light the beacon tower to warn the rear. In addition, the beacon tower is also equipped with a large gun (a small cannon) and a three-barreled gun. The large gun is usually two on ordinary beacon towers, and the slightly larger beacon towers do not exceed five. The three-barreled gun is usually only owned by the sergeant. While warning, the terrain can be used to fire at the enemy to block the enemy.

Of course, this kind of blocking is not actually very effective. After all, such a small number of people cannot stop the Mongolian attack. But no matter what, it can block the attack for a while, and it can also delay some time for warning, so that the rear can mobilize troops to support in time, or give the people inside the Great Wall a chance to escape from danger in time.

In recent years, as the relationship between Mongolia and the Ming Dynasty eased, the beacon tower did not play a big role. In addition, there had been no war for many years, and Sanshandun was not a traditional line. Every time the Mongols attacked the Ming Dynasty, they usually entered the Ming Dynasty from the line east of Datong Youwei or even Xuanfu. The terrain there was relatively flat and more suitable for Mongolian cavalry combat. From a geographical point of view, once the Mongols invaded the Ming territory from there, they could also quickly advance to Zhili.

As the name suggests, Sanshandun is close to the mountains, with mountains such as Moer Mountain in the east and southeast. From the terrain point of view, even if the Mongols attacked the Ming Dynasty from Sanshandun, it would not be conducive to cavalry attack. Therefore, Sanshandun has rarely been attacked over the years, and the beacon tower has not been lit for nearly a hundred years.

The garrison at Sanshandun has always been relatively relaxed and safe among the border troops. Although the treatment of the border troops of the Ming Dynasty is much better than that of the garrison troops, there have been many cases of lack of training and empty salaries in the border troops over the years, and their combat effectiveness is far less than before. What's more, there are only seven garrisons in Sanshandun. Except for a sergeant, the remaining six border troops can be described as old, weak, sick and disabled.

The oldest soldier was nearly fifty years old, and people of this age could be considered old men in the countryside. If a fight really broke out, he might not be able to stop even one Mongolian with his fighting power, and he probably couldn't run even if he wanted to. To put it bluntly, these people at the Sanshandun Beacon Tower were just a decoration. Weiyuanwei never expected them to be able to stop the Mongolian attack, and it would be good enough if they could give a warning in time.

But no one expected that just recently, this remote place called Sanshandun was actually taken over by people sent by the imperial court. Although it was still under the jurisdiction of Weiyuanwei in name, the actual jurisdiction was transferred to the people sent by the imperial court.

The commander of Weiyuan Guards did not dare to ask about the origins of these people. You have to know that the leader is a captain of the Jinyi Guards, and there are also people from the East Factory. What do the Jinyi Guards and the East Factory represent? The commander of Weiyuan Guards certainly knew it in his heart. Not only him, but even the general of Datong Town turned a blind eye to this matter and pretended not to know. Since the Jinyi Guards and the East Factory were involved, and there was an official document from the court, a mere Sanshandun beacon tower was given to them.

It was freezing cold outside, with a huge blanket of snow. In the soldier cave of the beacon tower, several soldiers sat around a bonfire.

"Captain Jiang, what do you think the court is trying to do? Are we going to go back to the garrison when next spring comes?" A young soldier couldn't help but ask. He still had a childish look on his face and looked about fifteen or sixteen years old.

"Ask me? How would I know?" The sergeant known as Jiangtou gave him a muffled look and poked the campfire with a dry branch in his hand. His clothes were no different from those of ordinary soldiers, except that he had a sword on his waist and a three-barreled gun beside him, which represented his identity as a sergeant.

The young soldier chuckled and approached Jiang Tou and said, "Jiang Tou, just talk to the brothers. We are just privates, and you are a sergeant. You also know someone above you, so you are naturally more informed than us."

As he spoke, the young soldier pointed upwards with a look of anticipation. Not only him, but also several other soldiers showed a curious look. Only the oldest soldier seemed to have no interest in these things. He sat aside and hugged his cotton coat, as if he felt a little cold.

Jiangtou glared at the boy but did not scold him. This boy had some connection with him. The boy's father was Jiangtou's old partner, but he was not as lucky as Jiangtou. Jiangtou was a sergeant and was considered a low-ranking officer, but the boy's father had been a soldier for more than ten years and was still a private. One winter two years ago, it was snowing heavily outside just like today. When he went out for patrol, he slipped and fell directly to the bottom. When everyone found him and went to rescue him, he had already died.

The father was dead, and the son was young. For the sake of his old friend, Jiang was moved with compassion. He raised a few taels of silver to pay tribute to the superiors and said a few good words for his old friend, and finally let this kid replace his father in the army. Today's border troops are no longer the border troops of the past, but no matter what, being a border soldier is better than being a military household. The military pay can still be paid no matter how much it is discounted. In addition, there is a fixed grain to eat. Moreover, Sanshandun is much more stable than other borders. There have been no wars for a hundred years. If you can survive, it will be a good job.

"What can a mere sergeant like me know about this? Do I have someone above me? You think too highly of me. If I really had someone above me, would I still be here starving with you guys? I would have been a commander long ago. Well, the court will naturally have its own arrangements for its affairs. We are soldiers and eat food. No matter what happens in the future, the court will always provide us with food. Why think so much?"

"What Mr. Jiang said makes sense." An older soldier nodded and agreed, "The court has its own arrangements. Besides, we are all frontier troops. No matter who takes over, someone has to watch over the beacon tower. But then again, although it is hard to stay in the beacon tower, you will get used to it after a long time. It is better than being a military household in the garrison. Being a military household in the garrison is not a good job. Those officials are all black-hearted. When the time comes, they will make you work like a cow or a horse and work you to death. It is better to stay here."

As soon as this was said, everyone nodded, even the boy who spoke at the beginning thought it made sense. If it wasn't for Jiangtou who helped him find a job in the frontier army, he would basically be an ordinary military household. The military households now are not the same as before. The military households in various parts of the Ming Dynasty have long been rotten. To put it bluntly, ordinary military households are slaves of those officials, or even worse than slaves.

Being a servant to a rich family not only provided food and clothing, but also a salary, but the military households not only had to work for the officials, but also had no compensation. When the officials were happy, they would give them some rice, but when they were unhappy, they would beat or scold them. Every year, the military households who could not stand it or even survive would secretly escape, while the border troops were much safer.

Everyone sighed and time passed quickly.

Jiangtou leaned out to look at the sun outside. It was already very gloomy just after noon. It seemed that the snow would not stop for a while.

He adjusted the sword at his waist, picked up the three-barreled gun beside him, and prepared to go out for a walk.

Although the Mongols would not come on such a snowy day, Jiang, who had been a border soldier for many years, had already developed the habit of patrolling at regular intervals, and he would not miss the opportunity even in such heavy snow.

It's not that Jiangtou abides by his duties and strictly follows the drill. It's mainly a habit, plus the necessary vigilance of the border troops. Even though there have been no Mongols coming to Sanshandun for many years, he still has to do what he should do. This man does what he does for a living. This is not only for God to see, but also to be more vigilant. As a member of the border troops, such vigilance may save his life one day.

"I'm going to go around. You guys be careful when you're roasting the fire. Don't make the fire too big and ignite our weapons." Jiangtou stood up and instructed his men.

"Don't go when it's snowing so heavily. The Mongols are not stupid. Why would they come in such horrible weather? Besides, this is Sanshandun." A soldier couldn't help but say this when he saw Jiang Tou was going for an inspection.

"You know nothing!" Jiangtou cursed back rudely, packed his luggage and walked out without paying any attention to him. The boy who had asked Jiangtou the question just now was stunned for a moment, then he stood up, picked up the spear beside him without saying a word and followed Jiangtou out.

The soldier who was scolded by Jiangtou had an ugly look on his face. After seeing Jiangtou and the kid leave, he muttered a few complaints. But as soon as he said that, the old soldier, who had been silent, kicked him. His eyes, which were originally closed, opened slightly, and two rays of light shot directly at the other party. The soldier felt a chill on his neck and swallowed back the rest of his words.

"Why are you following me?" After coming out of the soldier hiding cave, the cold wind was howling outside. Jiangtou subconsciously wrapped his coat tightly. Before he could continue walking forward, he heard footsteps behind him. He turned around and saw the boy following him and asked with a smile.

"I'll go around with you." The boy grinned, revealing two rows of white teeth.

Jiangtou nodded with satisfaction. Although this kid was still immature, he was a good young man. He deserved the fact that he had spoken up for him and let him join the border army instead of his father. He followed him completely voluntarily. Perhaps he thought of his father's past. If his father had not slipped and got into trouble while patrolling alone, and no one had discovered it in time, he might still be alive. He was worried that it was not safe for Jiangtou to patrol alone, so he took the initiative to follow him.

(End of this chapter)