The Soldier of the Red Mansion

Chapter 155 Still here
The commotion at Yanmen Pass was so loud that even Daizhou heard about it.

Several local gentry came to the prefectural government office. Wu Hong invited them to his hall, brought them tea, and discussed Wang Xin of Yanmen Pass.

The oldest one, Zheng Yonglian, was originally the magistrate of Tang County in Yingtian Prefecture. Now he has returned to his hometown to retire. Because of his high moral character and reputation in the local area, he is recommended to take charge of both big and small matters.

Then there was a man with a refined and elegant air named Fang Shizhen. His father was originally a doctor in the Ministry of Revenue. He himself also had achievements, but his ranking was not high. Therefore, he was unwilling to be an official in a small place. He chose to cultivate his reputation among the scholars and became a local celebrity.

Next is Gu Shi. His brother is an official in the capital of Taiyuan and a powerful figure in the local area. However, he is a low-key person. However, no one dares to ignore the Gu family.

Several families are related by marriage, and have relatives and friends. Although Daizhou is a small place, it has extensive connections from the imperial court to the local areas, from the six ministries to the Qingliu people. This is the gentry.

The prefect had to obey them and dared not offend them, otherwise it would be the prefect who would suffer, not them.

"Provide him with 400,000 kilograms of fodder every year, and an additional 1,000 dan of food rations." Wu Hong said to everyone.

Four hundred thousand kilograms of fodder need to be divided into different types, and also divided into hot and cold weather. The appetite of horses will also change. If they are well cared for, about twenty-five kilograms per day is enough for more than forty horses in a year.

The rations of one thousand dan are different from those of the Ban army. The guest army is on the march, and the soldiers' daily rations are calculated at two jin, which is the rations for two hundred soldiers for one year.

This man brought two thousand troops, plus a few hundred local soldiers, so his requirements were not high.

"This person is very calculating."

Fang Shizhen commented, and seeing everyone looking at him, he said confidently, "He knows Daizhou inside and out."

Everyone present was a smart person and understood what Fang Shizhen meant.

If the localities do not pay taxes to the government, the government cannot pay taxes to the court. Taxes are in arrears all over the country. The law cannot hold everyone responsible, and the court has no choice but to forgive the arrears and start over, so as to avoid being embarrassed and dishonorable, which will be detrimental to the court's prestige.

But after being exempted once, there was a second time, and then countless times. Those local tycoons who paid on time or had no arrears became dissatisfied, thinking that the officials ignored local interests for their own future. They were described as greedy and mean people, and their reputation was completely ruined, and they also lost their future.

As a result, the trend of default became more and more serious, and the accumulated problems were difficult to reverse. Daizhou was no exception. Moreover, Daizhou had experienced war and had more reason to default.

Unlike those wealthy places, Daizhou's annual tax is more than 3,000 shi, and there are 50,000 bags of horse grass. The rest of the salt, tea buds, game, feathers and other miscellaneous taxes are calculated separately.

Over the years, it was considered a good year for Daizhou to pay one-third of the tax, and more often than not, it could not even pay one-tenth.

The grain Wang Xin requested was one-third of the Daizhou quota, and the horse feed he requested was a little more than half of the Daizhou quota. Horse feed was cheaper than food rations, costing three cents per bag of fifteen pounds, while food rations cost five cents per bag.

According to the silver, he was given several hundred taels of silver every year.

It was just within Daizhou's acceptable range, and although it was painful, it was not impossible to agree. Originally, the wealthy families took 70%, and the court took 30%. Now there was one more person to share, so Daizhou would get 30%.

If it were an ordinary year, the wealthy families would naturally not agree. How could they give away such huge amounts of money for nothing?

You should know that a courtyard in the capital city only costs four or five hundred taels.

Moreover, how much labor would be required to produce these hundreds of thousands of kilograms of horse fodder and thousands of stones of grain. Although the common people are not worth much, that is only for the rich. If outsiders come to use their own people, they would probably have to pay for even a sip of water.

"What about this person?" The old man Zheng Yonglian was more concerned about this.

He is too old to run and doesn't want to run. He just wants to stay in his hometown to spend his old age and is willing to spend money to buy peace.

"Although this man is young, he does have some ability. He speaks logically and has deep ideas." Magistrate Wu Hong said cautiously, "He also has deep connections. He's probably not someone who speaks without thinking."

"I'm afraid that he will rely on his connections and not take our Daizhou seriously, and just use us as a stepping stone." Fang Shizhen retorted and expressed his concerns.

"It doesn't matter if I'm just a stepping stone, I'm just worried he won't put his heart into his work."

Gu Shi, who had been silent all this time, finally spoke.

With Gu Shi's statement, the prefect understood. It seemed that there was no problem in cooperating with this person. He was mainly worried about whether this person was reliable and whether his words could be kept.

"As for this person's resume, he is indeed victorious in every battle." Wu Hong said.

The answer was irrelevant to the question, but everyone was in deep thought.

"Who knows whether the victory report is true or not?" Gu Shi shook his head and suddenly laughed. "I heard that Fatty Feng in Datong has a grudge against this person, and Fatty Feng is ruthless and ruthless. So we are not in a hurry. Let's agree to it first. As for when to send it over, we have to wait until the autumn harvest."

Gu Shi spoke slowly, and the others were listening, their status clear at a glance.

"If he can withstand Fatty Feng's pressure in the past few months, we naturally have nothing to say and will send it to him as scheduled. If he can't, then everything is over."

Gu Shi’s words reminded everyone that in addition to this group of local tyrants, there was also a local dragon.

The old man, Zheng Yonglian, had been an official in Yingtian Prefecture and knew something about the Four Great Families. He analyzed, "Even Wang Ziteng couldn't do anything to Fatty Feng. Wang Ziteng is his backer, so I'm afraid he's no match for him."

The old man didn't quite understand and spoke based on his own impression.

"We'll send someone to remind him and leave a good impression. Hopefully, he can get through it." Gu Shi made the final decision.

It's not that they haven't begged Fatty Feng, the local emperor, for help, but there were so many people asking Fatty Feng for help that Fatty Feng looked down on them. It's better to ease the situation than to block it, and Fatty Feng didn't want his men to fight the Hu people to death, so he intentionally or unintentionally gave up Daizhou to them.

Deep down, Gu Shi hated Fatty Feng a little bit, but he could do nothing about it.

Everyone kept silent, no one knew what they were thinking. The old man sighed. He was old and didn't have much time left. He just wanted to spend the rest of his life in peace in his hometown.

I don’t know if it’s an illusion, but the emperor has been suppressing nobles, promoting civil officials, and controlling the military with civil officials over the years. Was he wrong?

The Hu people were not so rampant in the past.

Or perhaps the military has become increasingly arrogant and domineering? It's clear that the military should be controlled by civilians, so why have the military become so powerful? Or have they been fighting each other for years and have lost control of the army?

The old man couldn't help but think about his youth when warriors were obedient.

Daizhou was invaded by the Hu people a few years ago. The unrest year after year was really annoying, and people had to turn to the military for help.

You can climb a mountain, but you can’t cross a mountain.

There are only a few mountain roads that can accommodate troops, with ravines and rivers flowing through them.

There are military forts along the way, relying on the Great Wall preserved in Yanmen Pass. There is such a narrow path less than eight miles west of Yanmen Pass, but it requires crossing four mountains. The mountain road is winding and narrow, with eighteen bends and difficult to walk on.

The west gate of Yanmen Pass is located here.

The whole is located on the mountainside. The mountains are very solid and there is a Great Wall connecting Yanmen Pass, which can quickly transport supplies and mobilize reinforcements. There is also spring water flowing in, which can be said to be a one-man-guarding pass against ten thousand men.

Wang Xin brought his subordinates to inspect this place for the second time.

The garrison at this gate discovered Wang Xin, and the garrison commander hurried over to greet him.

"General."

The garrison commander here was called Fang Hua, who was selected by Wang Xin. He dismissed the old and weak soldiers from the garrison here and selected the young and strong ones. This man and the officer at the west gate came over and bowed to pay their respects.

"Greetings, General." The officers saluted with fists clasped. "Yes."

Wang Xin nodded and dismounted from a distance. The mountain road was difficult to travel on, and he had to ride a horse. War horses also needed training to adapt to various environments.

Without further ado, let Fang Hua review the soldiers at the west gate.

Ximen had a staff of 200 soldiers, of which there were only dozens of old and weak ones before. After reorganization, the number was restored to 150 soldiers, and most of them were young and strong. They received a monthly salary of five cents of silver.

Five cents of silver is not a lot, just enough to support yourself. It’s okay for a bachelor, but not for a married person.

Wang Xin couldn't afford more, so he didn't spend money on the soldiers and reduced his embezzlement. He used five cents of silver to recruit some poor bachelors to guard the dangerous fortresses, which was enough to barely maintain the situation.

However, Wang Xin had no intention of taking these soldiers out to fight.

No matter what the morale of the soldiers below is, you must have a scale in your heart.

A salary of five cents of silver, and yet you still want to drag others out to fight, when your own military discipline is so strict, is that reasonable? It doesn't sound human, so no matter what these soldiers think, you won't take them out to fight.

The new general was clear about rewards and punishments, compassionate to the soldiers, and managed things properly, which made people accept him and there were not many complaints. The garrison commander was also gentle and did not oppress the soldiers. As a result, the atmosphere at the west gate of Yanmen Pass soon changed.

One hundred and fifty soldiers, armed with spears, most of them were wearing cloth clothes, which made them look cheap and simple.

"good."

Wang Xin praised in public.

Zhang Can and others behind him twitched their eyelids when they heard the general's words. If this happened in the base camp, not to mention the soldiers below, they, the generals, would be scolded.

Regardless of other people's attitudes, Wang Xin promised the soldiers: "If you train well, I will try to increase your military pay by the end of the year. Let's all work hard together to defend our country and provide for our families."

"Here!"

"Thank you, General."

The people below responded one after another.

Wang Xin nodded. His requirements for them were vague and his words were rather empty. Because he didn't dare to guarantee anything, his expectations of what they could achieve were also low.

Eat as much as you work.

There are many people who have subordinates who only eat porridge every day and expect others to work like slaves for them, working themselves to death and being loyal to them. However, Wang Xin himself will not be such a person.

This kind of person has no ability and can only rely on power to exploit others. He is of no use to society. If a normal person were to take his place, efficiency would improve rapidly and healthily.

The soldiers were also very happy.

As the superiors have already said, the general has also brought a pig, so everyone can have meat today.

This life is actually not bad. Although I don’t make much money, the life is not hard either.

"General, someone is coming from Datong."

At this time, two riders came from Yanmen Pass.

In order to give Feng Yong face, Wang Xin decided to cooperate with this person instead of fighting, and temporarily suspended his plan. Otherwise, no one could delay his important matters.

Fang Hua learned that the general was leaving and had no choice but to see him off. He felt very sorry and said with regret outside the west gate, "I had wanted to ask the general for advice on how to train the troops."

Wang Xin patted Fang Hua's shoulder and said with a smile, "I'll come back in two days."

After getting the general's promise, Fang Hua couldn't stop smiling.

He came from a humble background and finally got an opportunity. Moreover, the general was capable and willing to teach him. Fang Hua wished he could stay by the general's side every day, but unfortunately there were too many people around the general and it was difficult to squeeze in.

Wang Xin had a good impression of Fang Hua. His limited ability was not a problem. As long as he had a good attitude, he could learn other things.

That's why he was left at Ximen.

The narrow path guarded by the West Gate can bypass Yanmen Pass. The famous Yanmen Pass ambush took place on this path, so it is extremely important and a reliable person needs to be placed there.

As for his own troops, they were a field army built at great expense.

The field army is used for attacking.

Ningwu Pass is a big pass and is not under his jurisdiction. He has no control over what happens in other places, but the area under his jurisdiction is absolutely impregnable, with both offensive and defensive capabilities. Not even a fly can fly over.

After leaving the West Gate, we walked for an hour or two, even though it was only eight miles. We had originally planned to have dinner at the West Gate, but it was already afternoon when we returned to the city gate.

The chief clerk from Datong was in his thirties and his name was Zhao Tao.

When he saw Wang Xin, he was neither anxious nor impatient. Wang Xin didn't understand his purpose, so he was polite first and then forceful. He was respectful and asked him to go first. The man was polite and tactful.

Zhao Tao sent the military order from Datong.

According to Datong's custom, every spring and summer, the armies of various tribes would take turns to go out of the border. The purpose was to intimidate the Hu tribe, to discover the nomadic tribe that had mistakenly entered the border, to set fire to the grassland, to fight against horse thieves, to maintain trade routes, and to gather news from outside the border, etc.

Each unit was responsible for a direction. Wang Xin's unit was responsible for going west, passing Shanyin, exiting the Great Wall, and visiting Shanyu City and Dabansheng.

"The governor took into consideration General Wang's new arrival, so he arranged a route where these two places are both familiar areas. This has caused many of his colleagues to be jealous. This shows how much the governor cares about the general."

Zhao Tao observed Wang Xin's expression as he spoke.

Wang Xin was holding the military order from Datong, and the order was normal.

But Wang Xin thought of someone. There is nothing new in the world. The routines are nothing more than those means of excluding dissidents. Civil officials have their own ways, and military officers have their own ways.

Feng Yong's move is a bit similar to Li Chengliang's.

His military order was naturally correct. Everyone did the same, and so did the court's rules. So if I refused, he would have reason to impeach me. In short, I would be in a passive position.

Unless you have a valid reason.

Now he had no reason to refuse, because Feng Yong was the governor, and there was nothing wrong with this military order. The main thing was to follow the military order, which was equivalent to leaving his back to Datong.

Comrades are shoulder to shoulder and back to back in the same trench, so I must go to the front line as well, as it is my duty.

Why do I just not trust Feng Yong?

Wang Xin touched his chin, feeling that this person would definitely shoot him in the back.

I originally set my heart towards the bright moon, but the bright moon shines on the ditch.

(End of this chapter)