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

Chapter 481 Li Zicheng's Worry
"Has the army's food not been distributed yet?" Li Zicheng asked the cook with a cold face after picking up the chopsticks and stirring the porridge twice.

The head cook smiled bitterly and said, "Where is the food? If we hadn't brought these with us when we set out, and if we hadn't brought the wild vegetables that the brothers dug up in the wild, we wouldn't even have enough to eat. Sir, you have to talk to General Wang. We have been running day and night, and our legs have become thinner. We can't get enough food just by relying on these brothers. If we continue like this, let alone reaching the capital, I'm afraid we won't be able to walk for another two days."

"You go down, I know about this." Li Zicheng nodded silently and said this. The cooks saluted and retreated. After the cooks left, Wen Xinghu on the side could not help but said, "Boss Li, this won't work. This stuff doesn't fill you up at all. After a few piss, you'll be hungry again. If it's at the border, it's fine. You can find a place to lie down and rest, and you can barely bear it. But now we are going to defend the king! If we rely on these things, let alone get to the capital, we will all have to lie down halfway, not to mention taking knives to fight."

"Yes, uncle, didn't you say that we would have food when we got to Jin County? Why haven't you distributed the food yet? If you keep eating this, my eyes will turn green. How can we go on like this?"

Listening to the two people's words, Li Zicheng's expression was uncertain, and he was also very dissatisfied. When they set out, Wang Guo had told them to pack up quickly, take some food and set out immediately, and Wang Guo would help them solve the food problem when they were on the road.

Wang Guo was a lieutenant general and also Li Zicheng's benefactor. Because Li Zicheng was promoted by Wang Guo, Li Zicheng believed Wang Guo's words without a doubt. Because of this, Li Zicheng did not think much about it. He asked his brothers to pack up and set off with Wang Guo. However, they walked for several days from the border to Jin County, but they still did not see the military rations distributed. The soldiers had to find ways to solve the problem of food by themselves. What was the meaning of this?
If they were in the wild, it would be fine, but now they have arrived in Jin County! As the imperial army, shouldn't the local government provide them with food and even fish and meat? How can they survive with just the things they made? If this continues, it will be strange if the brothers don't rebel.

Thinking this way, how could Li Zicheng sit still? He immediately threw his chopsticks on the table and said to Wen Xinghu and Li Guo: "You guys eat first, I'll go ask General Wang."

"Boss Li, how about I go with you?"

"Uncle, can I follow you too?"

Wen Xinghu and Li Guo said hurriedly, Li Zicheng waved his hand, stood up and said: "No need, I'll go ask a few steps and come back, you guys use it first, after all, this is food, we can't waste it."

After saying this, Li Zicheng stepped out of the tent and walked quickly towards where the kingdom was.

When he arrived at the place, Li Zicheng saluted Wang Guo's personal guards and asked them to inform him that he wanted to see the general.

After a while, the guards reported and took him in. Inside, he saw their main general, the kingdom.

"I, Li Zicheng, greet the general."

"Oh, it's Zicheng. What do you want to see me about?" Wang Guo was not wearing any armor, but just a casual dress.

"General, I would like to ask when the military rations can be distributed." Li Zicheng asked with a bow.

"Military rations?" Wang Guo was slightly stunned, looked at Li Zicheng, frowned and asked: "What? The army is out of food?"

"That's not the case. We still have some grains, but not much. Moreover, our troops have been traveling day and night these days and we are tired. We can't survive on these grains and wild vegetables. That's why I want to see you, General, and ask you to give us some real food."

Wang Guo nodded. He actually knew the situation in the army. He had been troubled by this issue for the past two days. The imperial court sent an urgent order to the king to come to the capital. After receiving the order, he did not make much preparation and quickly rushed to the capital.

But as the old saying goes, food comes before troops move. However, they did not bring much food with them when they went to support the king. Apart from what the army carried when they set out, there was no baggage train following them. According to the court, since they were going to support the king, the food supply would be provided by the prefectures along the way, and the kingdom also thought so, so they did not take this matter to heart when they set out.

But the problem was that along the way, the local governments refused to supply food, and many prefectures even refused to let their troops enter the city. Wang Guo knew why. The Ming army had always had poor discipline, and the local prefectures were afraid that the Ming army would disturb the people or even rob the local area after entering the city. As for food, the civil officials always looked down on them, and they looked at people with their noses. Moreover, the court only ordered the king to come to the defense, but did not send a document to the local prefectures to ask them to provide military rations, so the locals did not care about Wang Guo and his men at all.

As time went by, Wang Guo had a problem solving the food problem on the spot. Having just arrived in Jin County today, he had sent people to ask the county magistrate for food, but the magistrate spread his hands and said that he had not received any orders from above and it was impossible to provide him with food. Even Wang Guo’s request to enter the county town for rest was rejected. In desperation, the troops could only temporarily camp outside the city.

"Wait a little longer. I'm already thinking of a way to get the food. Let the brothers below work hard for two days, and distribute the food as soon as they get it." Wang Guo sighed and said. "General, I dare to ask, how many more days do we need to wait?" Li Zicheng asked.

Wang Guo looked unhappy and frowned, saying, "Li Zicheng, I have already told you to wait for two more days. What? Can't you even wait for two more days?"

Seeing Wang Guo was a little angry, Li Zicheng immediately explained: "General, it's not that I can't wait, but my brothers can't wait any longer. I'm better off, at least there are some grains in the food, but my brothers have basically been relying on wild vegetables these days. You know, these things are not enough to fill your stomach. If we were in the garrison, it would be fine, at most everyone could just endure it, but now we are on the march!"

"My troops are going to the capital to defend the king. We have to travel at least thirty or forty miles a day. How can we make it without food? General! If this continues, our brothers will definitely not be able to leave. What if there is a commotion down there and something goes wrong?"

Wang Guo slammed the table and raised his eyebrows: "A fight? Something went wrong? What could go wrong? What could go wrong? Is my sword not sharp? Li Zicheng! How dare you, a mere captain, speak so arrogantly? I have led the army for many years. Do I need you to remind me of such a small matter?"

"General... I... my humble servant..." Li Zicheng was frightened by Wang Guo's sudden anger and hurried to explain.

But before he could finish his words, Wang Guo interrupted him with a wave of his hand, and said to Li Zicheng in a gentle tone: "Zicheng, I promoted you, you should know how I treat you."

"I will never forget the general's kindness in recognizing my talent..."

"Well, I know this naturally. It is because I see that you are grateful and have good martial arts that I let you be the captain. Follow me and work hard. In the future, let alone the captain, you may be able to become a garrison commander or even a guerrilla general. Zicheng, you are a talent. I have high hopes for you!"

"Yes, yes, yes..." Li Zicheng nodded repeatedly.

Wang Guo added, "In theory, our army is serving the king, and the food and grass supply should be provided by the local government, but I think you know what kind of people those local turbans are. To be honest, I have sent people to the county to negotiate, and I think there will be results in the next two days. Once the food from Jin County is allocated, the food and grass problem can be solved. This matter cannot be rushed, so Zicheng, you should explain a few words to the brothers below and let everyone hold on for a few more days. As long as the food comes, everyone will be indispensable."

Li Zicheng felt bitter. His subordinates didn't know, but as the commander, he knew something. If the kingdom could get food from Jin County, it could have done it long ago. Why did it have to wait until today? Along the way, the county and prefecture governments treated their border troops as if they had seen the plague god. They put on a posture of strict defense, not to mention giving them food, and even refused to let them enter the city.

As for Jin County, the same is true. Can the Kingdom get food from Jin County? God knows the answer. Anyway, Li Zicheng thinks the probability is not high.

If Jin County also stopped giving them food, what would they do? Not to mention going to the king's defense, they would starve to death on the way. The king was stubborn, but Li Zicheng knew that the resentment among his brothers was deep. If they continued like this and didn't solve the problem, something big would happen.

But Wang Guo had already said so, and Li Zicheng couldn't directly refute it, after all, Wang Guo had done him a favor. After thinking about it, Li Zicheng came up with a solution, and hesitantly asked Wang Guo if he could give everyone some military pay first to help them out since the food couldn't be distributed for the time being?
The border troops are seriously in arrears of wages, and the longest period of arrears for ordinary soldiers is already half a year. It stands to reason that the court should allocate funds for their coming out to defend the king this time. Although this money is not military pay, it can help solve the urgent problem.

But the problem was that the funds for the expedition had not been paid, and even Li Zicheng had not seen a single penny. Where did the money go? Li Zicheng knew without a second thought that it must have been swallowed up by the higher-ups. These generals had too big an appetite, and not only did they owe the military pay, they also did not let go of the funds for the expedition.

Immediately, Li Zicheng tentatively asked Wang Guo. He did not mention the allocation of funds, but only talked about the situation of the army's arrears of wages, hoping that Wang Guo could solve part of the arrears. If some money could be distributed, not much, one or two taels of silver per person, three thousand people would only be three thousand taels. With this money, everyone would have more money in their hands. Even if the army was short of food, with the money in hand, they could also use the money to buy some food from the people to make up for it.

To be honest, Li Zicheng's idea was indeed for the benefit of the kingdom, and it was also a good way to solve the current problem. But as soon as Li Zicheng mentioned the silver, the kingdom jumped up as if its tail had been stepped on, and rejected Li Zicheng's request without hesitation.

Not only that, Wang Guo also severely criticized Li Zicheng for not doing his job. He should not interfere in matters that he should not be involved in as a small general. How could he have any say in matters like military pay? Moreover, he was a lieutenant general, not a general. The court could not do anything about the military pay, so what else could he do?
Wang Guo scolded Li Zicheng so hard that he was humiliated. Finally, he waved his hand and told Li Zicheng to get out, go back to lead the troops well, and not to interfere recklessly. It would be fine this time, but if it happens again, he would never let him off!

(End of this chapter)