Chapter 294 Jinyi Inspection
"Jinyiwei?"

Jiang Tou was stunned for a moment, then he yelled, "Do you think I'm stupid? Jinyiwei? If you were Jinyiwei, I'd be from the Eastern Depot!"

"Brother, I am really a member of the Imperial Guard!" Seeing that Jiangtou didn't believe him, the man with his hands raised was almost crying.

The three-barreled gun was about to hit me, and I had to shoot a few transparent holes. I was obviously the second one, why was my luck so bad? The guy in front of me fell down and rolled on the ground to hide, which exposed me. Now I am the unlucky one who is at the head. The border soldiers above me don't believe that I am a Jinyiwei. If I get nervous and the three-barreled gun opens fire, I will die. It's too unfair.

At this time, the companion who was hiding behind shouted to that person, but because of the distance and the strong wind and snow, Jiangtou, who was behind the parapet, did not understand what was being shouted.

"Brother, don't fire your gun. I really am a Jinyiwei. I have a badge on me. If you don't believe me, I'll throw it to you to see." The man who was pointed at by the three-barreled gun had shaking legs and his voice was trembling.

Jiangtou squinted his eyes and looked ahead. For a moment, he was unsure. This guy kept saying that he was a Jinyiwei, but Jiangtou couldn't be sure. When he said that he had a badge to prove his identity, Jiangtou hesitated. He glanced down and shouted, "Come forward slowly... Yes! Walk slowly, don't play tricks, anyone who touches the gun in my hand will not be a vegetarian."

Under Jiangtou's command, the man moved towards the parapet. When he got closer and saw clearly the cloak he was wearing, Jiangtou frowned slightly. The style of the cloak did look like something from the military, but he couldn't be sure that the other person was really one of their own.

Having been at the border for a long time, Jiang has seen all kinds of messes. No one can guarantee that the Mongols will not change into military attire and take advantage of the situation.

When the man came closer, about ten steps away from the parapet, Jiangtou stopped him and asked him to throw the so-called badge over for him to see.

The man quickly agreed, reached out and took out the badge from his arms, then held it up and gestured towards Jiangtou, then threw it over.

With a clang, the waist badge fell behind the parapet, just two steps away from Jiang Tou. However, Jiang Tou did not pick it up. Instead, he continued to hold the three-barreled gun in his hand and asked the young man next to him to pick it up for him.

The young man trotted forward in two steps to pick up the badge on the ground, then walked to Jiangtou and handed the badge to him.

Picking up the badge, Jiang Tou looked at it carefully. When he saw the pattern and words on the badge, he immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

"Damn it, it's really the Imperial Guards. This is weird. Why are they here in such a snowy day? And they're sneaking around like thieves."

After cursing inwardly, Jiangtou stood up and moved the three-barreled gun in his hand away from the other person.

"Brother, is there any problem with my identity?" Seeing that Jiangtou no longer pointed the three-barreled gun at him, the man relaxed and asked quickly.

"Come up, and tell the brothers behind you to be careful. It's not easy to walk here, so don't step on empty air." Jiangtou called out to the other party.

The other party was completely relieved at this point. He turned around and shouted twice to the people behind him, then walked towards the parapet with one foot high and one foot low. When he got close, Jiangtou asked the young man to reach out and pull the man up. With the help of the force, the man climbed in through the gap behind the wall and finally reached the top of the city wall.

When the man reached the top of the city wall, Jiangtou was more certain of the other party's identity, not only because of the badge on his waist, but also because of the clothes he was wearing under his cloak.

The uniforms of the Jinyiwei were different from those of ordinary soldiers. Although the styles were roughly similar, the fabrics of the Jinyiwei's uniforms were all made of silk, and there were intricate patterns on them. Even the belts around the waist were twisted. Otherwise, how could they be called "Jinyiwei"?

Later generations often have a misunderstanding that the Jinyiwei all wore Feiyu suits, but in fact the Feiyu suit was not the uniform of the Jinyiwei at all.

The so-called flying fish suit is one of the bestowed suits, and the bestowed suits of the Ming Dynasty are divided into four types. The lowest level is the Qilin suit, which is generally bestowed on ministers of the fourth and fifth ranks. The third level is the bullfighting suit, which is bestowed on officials of the third rank. As for the second level, the flying fish suit, only officials of the second rank are eligible, and only the commander in the Jinyiwei can be bestowed with the flying fish suit. How can ordinary Jinyiwei be qualified to wear the flying fish suit? As for the top level, it is the python suit. Now, in addition to Wei Zhongxian, the eunuch, only the cabinet elders can be bestowed with the python suit. Being bestowed with the python suit is a great honor.

The man on the top of the city wall was wearing a Jinyiwei uniform that could be recognized at a glance. This kind of uniform could not be faked. In addition, the man's face was different from the flat face of the Mongols. He was clearly a Ming person. In addition, he had just checked the waist badge, so his identity was confirmed.

"Sir, I'm sorry for offending you just now." Jiang stepped forward and handed back the badge with both hands, while apologizing to the other party.

Although he is a sergeant, he is the lowest-ranking officer in the army. According to the Ming army organization, there are five people in a group, and the sergeant is the head of these five people. For border troops like them stationed at the beacon tower, the sergeant usually leads more people. After all, the beacon tower is different from ordinary soldiers, and the number of people is not so fixed. In later times, the rank of sergeant is not even as good as the squad leader, which is equivalent to the current sergeant. In this way, the sergeant is at best a deputy squad leader. Such a low-level officer has no official rank. According to the military rank of later times, he can barely be regarded as a corporal. It is more appropriate to describe him as a soldier's head.

The Jinyiwei was different. They were the emperor's personal soldiers. Even the lowest-ranking military craftsmen, strongmen, generals, and lieutenants had no rank, but the Jinyiwei usually had a higher rank than him. Moreover, the other party was just a small flag, far from being someone that a small sergeant like him could offend. Jiang had been a soldier for many years and naturally understood this. After confirming the other party's identity, he had to apologize. Otherwise, he would be given a taste of his own medicine or given a hard time.

"Brother, you can do it." Facing Jiang Tou's apology, the Jinyiwei was not angry. Instead, he patted his shoulder and laughed, "You are very vigilant. You came out to patrol in such a heavy snowstorm? Just now, you pointed the three-barreled gun at me, and I almost peed myself. I was nervous. If you didn't hold it steady, I would have to go back home."

"I'm so ashamed..." Jiang Tou apologized with a smile, "What a coincidence. I was on patrol here just now. Please forgive me if I offended you just now."

"It's okay, it's okay. It's all for national affairs. There's no question of offending me. Don't act like a boss all the time. My last name is Wang, and my given name is Gui. Since you are older than me, just call me Brother Wang." Wang Gui laughed with an expression that looked disapproving.

The unlucky guy who was almost shot to death by Jiang Tou was Wang Gui from Wangjia Village. Wang Gui could be regarded as an old team member of Zhu Shenzui in Wangjia Village. He followed Zhu Shenzui to sell contraband salt. Later, he went to Yangtou Mountain to be responsible for the salt transit road. When fighting Zhaowuling, Wang Gui was even more brave in killing the enemy. Unfortunately, this guy was unlucky and was injured in the battle of Zhaowuling. He was then sent back to Wangjia Village to recuperate, thus missing the opportunity to follow Zhu Shenzui to the grassland.

After he recovered from his injury, Wang Rong became the commander of Luzhou Guard under the help of Zhu Shenzhui. Logically, Wang Gui should have worked under Wang Rong. With his qualifications, he would have been able to get a small official position.

But at that time, Zhou Anmin had also become the deputy captain of the Jinyiwei Captain's Office and actually held the position of captain. Considering that Zhou Anmin also needed manpower, after seeking Wang Gui's opinion, Zhu Shenzhui asked Wang Gui and several other brothers from Wangjia Village to work for the Jinyiwei, and Wang Gui suddenly became a small flag of the Jinyiwei.

"Brother Wang, how can you do this in such a snowy day...?" Although the other party's identity was correct, Jiangtou couldn't help but ask.

Wang Gui asked with a half-smile, "Why? Haven't you heard that Sanshandun is going to be taken over by the imperial court?"

"I've heard of this... but I haven't received any orders from my superiors on how to take over. Brother Wang, are you here today to...?"

"That's not the case. We have to wait until spring to officially take over. Right now, I just came to take a look and do some inspection."

After hearing Wang Gui's words, Jiang Tou's heart shuddered slightly. Although the words were simple, Jiang Tou heard other meanings from them. Could it be that the imperial court was taking over by the Jinyiwei? If so, the importance of Sanshandun was far greater than he had imagined. Moreover, these Jinyiwei did not take the main road in such a heavy snowy day, but took a detour from this side to the side wall. It was obvious that they were here to find out the truth. Fortunately, he did not neglect it today, otherwise he would not know when they reached the top of the city. If they were blocked in the beacon tower, he and his brothers would be in trouble.

Although the Ming army is no longer as elite as before, the basic combat effectiveness of the border troops can still be maintained. After all, the border troops are different from the garrison troops. They are the ones who will actually fight, and Jiang, a veteran who has served for more than ten years, is very clear about the military regulations.

For a moment, Jiang Tou secretly sighed at his luck, thinking that if he had been careless today, he would have suffered the consequences. But now this Jinyiwei named Wang Gui was still friendly to him under such circumstances. It seemed that what he had done just now not only did not make the other party angry, but the other party was very satisfied.

As they were talking, several people behind them also climbed up to the top of the city wall one after another. Jiang Tou took a quick glance and saw that there were a total of twelve people including Wang Gui. One of them seemed to be the leader. After he came up, he stood there and looked around. There were a few people beside him who were not too far away and were on guard, while the others also stood on the top of the city wall, looking very tough.

The leader glanced at the top of the city wall, his eyes lingered for a moment at a few dilapidated places on the top of the city wall, his brows slightly frowned. Then, he moved his eyes away and looked towards Jiangtou.

"Are you two soldiers stationed at Sanshandun?"

"Your Excellency, that's right." Jiangtou hurriedly stepped forward and saluted. Seeing that the young man next to him had not yet come to his senses, he gently pulled him. The young man then reacted and followed Jiangtou in kneeling on one knee to salute the man.

"Are you the sergeant? What's your name?" The man's eyes fell on the three-barreled gun that Jiang Tou put aside, and then noticed the sword on his waist.

"Your Excellency, I am Jiang Lin, the corporal of Sanshandun, and this is my brother Chang Pingqing. There are several other brothers resting at the beacon tower."

The leader's eyes stayed on Jiang Lin and the other man for a moment, then he suddenly laughed and raised his hand and said, "You've done a good job in fulfilling your duties. Get up."

"Thank you, sir." Jiang Lin breathed a sigh of relief and stood up with Chang Pingqing.

(End of this chapter)

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