The Ming Dynasty: Starting with the border troops, it was overthrown and the Qing Dynasty was destro

Chapter 50 Arrow-Piercing Camp
Li Shichang was currently on a tour with his eldest son, afraid of missing even the slightest detail; he dared not make another mistake.

The Li family paid a heavy price for this trip. In order to mobilize these border soldiers, Li Shichang provided more than three months' worth of provisions for two thousand men, totaling six thousand shi (a unit of dry measure).

Li Shichang's heart was bleeding. Back then, that little thief surnamed Jiang only stole five hundred shi (a unit of dry measure), but now these imperial soldiers were asking for six thousand shi and wouldn't even bother to haggle.

He was so angry he could have eaten his teeth. If it weren't for the circumstances that forced him to hire proper standard-bearer soldiers, he wouldn't have spent six thousand shi of grain to hire these city garrison troops.

The border troops at the end of the Ming Dynasty were also divided into several levels.

The first type is the elite troops, which are the direct troops personally commanded by the governors-general, governors, and generals.

The second type is the battalion soldiers, which are troops led by officers below them.

The third type is the city guard, which consists of soldiers dedicated to defending the city.

The fourth type is the watchtower soldiers, who are the watchtower troops and night guards stationed in the watchtowers near the Great Wall.

The weakest of them all were the city garrison troops under Zhao Hongbin, most of whom were incapable of field combat.

Thinking that he had spent six thousand shi of grain but only managed to hire such a bunch of worthless people, Li Shichang felt a surge of anger in his chest.

His steps quickened, and his eyes, as he inspected the area, seemed to want to turn every corner upside down.

Just as Li Shichang was searching around with his son, he suddenly caught a glimpse of a hidden corner where there was a pile of extinguished ashes and some turned soil next to it.

His heart skipped a beat. "Could it be that some outsiders have infiltrated Wangzhuang?"

Without thinking twice, he quickly sent his eldest son, Li Liyuan, to fetch the steward of Wangzhuang.

The manager of Wangzhuang, surnamed Sun, had been in charge of the place for many years. Upon hearing the news about Li Shichang, he dared not delay and immediately led his men over.

Upon arriving at the scene, he saw the extinguished fire and the disturbed soil beside it, and immediately ordered his men to turn the soil over.

The servants worked quickly and efficiently, turning the place upside down and revealing a pile of chicken feathers and cleanly gnawed chicken bones underneath.

Manager Sun's eyelids twitched, and he immediately understood seven or eight parts of the situation. He immediately sent several servants to check the chicken coop, only to find that several old hens were missing.

Manager Sun was so angry he was practically fuming.
"These soldiers, these thieves! They actually dared to steal from the Prince's residence!"

"Let's go! Let's find that guy surnamed Zhao and demand an explanation!"

Li Shichang hesitated for a moment and advised:

"Manager Sun, how about we let this matter drop for now? My Li family will compensate for these chickens. With a major battle imminent, it's best not to create any unnecessary complications."

Butler Sun refused him without even thinking:
"What do you mean by 'unnecessary complications'? These were all specially brought from out of town by me, and are intended for the nobles of the Prince's Mansion to enjoy!"

"These bastards, if you don't teach them a lesson, they'll dare to do it again!"

After saying that, he led his men aggressively toward the city wall, completely ignoring Li Shichang behind him.

Li Shichang was so angry he wanted to slap himself. He should have known better than to call Wang Zhuang, the steward.

Sensing that things might be going wrong, he quickly summoned his eldest son, Li Lihui, and the accompanying guards, and hurriedly left Wangzhuang and returned to Yan'an Prefecture.

At that moment, Zhao Hongbin was standing on the city wall, shouting to direct the soldiers to deploy defenses and arrange the defensive equipment.

Suddenly, a series of hurried footsteps approached, and Manager Sun stormed in with his men, pointing his finger at Zhao Hongbin and launching into a tirade:
"You bunch of thieves, if you're going to defend the city properly, then defend it properly. What kind of behavior is this, stealing my livestock from Wangzhuang!"

Zhao Hongbin was completely bewildered by the criticism:
"Manager Sun, what are you up to?"

Manager Sun snorted coldly, led Zhao Hongbin to the pile of chicken feathers and bones, and pointed to the ground, saying:
"Hey Zhao, take a good look at this, what is it?"

Zhao Hongbin looked down and his expression changed slightly, but he remained defiant:
"Steward Sun, just say what you want to say. Don't beat around the bush. I'm busy inspecting the city's defenses!"

Steward Sun laughed in his anger:

"Busy? Your soldiers stole chickens from my Wangzhuang village, and you're playing dumb with me? Trying to deny it?" Zhao Hongbin raised an eyebrow and retorted.
"Why are you so sure it was my people who stole it? Maybe it was one of your own people from Wangzhuang! It's just embezzlement!"

Manager Sun looked at Zhao Hongbin with disdain:
“We people from Wangzhuang know the rules, and we are always watched over when we do things. Unlike you bunch of soldiers, all you do is steal chickens and dogs all day long!”

"So what if you ate it? You dare to do it but not admit it?"

Zhao Hongbin curled his lip in disdain:

"It's just a few broken chickens! What's all the fuss about? I'll just compensate you!"

Upon hearing this, Steward Sun's face flushed red with anger, and he roared:

"What do you mean by 'a few broken chickens'?"

“These chickens were specially transported from out of town. They are fed with the finest feed every day and are carefully cared for. They are meant to be given to the nobles of the Prince’s mansion. How dare you soldiers like you put your mouths on them?”

He grew angrier as he spoke, and his voice rose several decibels.

"Fine, you don't care, huh? I'll send someone to inform Eunuch Wang right now, and have him go and have a word with your boss!"

Zhao Hongbin didn't want to alarm his superiors over this matter, especially since it was a joint initiative between the prefect and the prince's residence.

So he stopped the steward:
"Wait a minute, Steward Sun, I'll go ask right away."

After saying that, he turned around and sent his personal guards to question the soldiers on duty one by one on the city wall, but none of the soldiers were willing to speak.
They all had a bite of the roast chicken that Lü Ming secretly brought today, but now when asked, they all pretended to be deaf and dumb and refused to admit it no matter what.

After asking around, Zhao Hongbin shrugged and said:
“Manager Sun, you heard it too, they all said they didn’t see who ate it.”

Manager Sun, of course, understood the intricacies of the situation and sneered:

"Didn't see it? Fine! Men! Prepare the horses, I'm going to Yan'an Prefecture to report to Eunuch Wang myself!"

Seeing that he wouldn't give up, Zhao Hongbin had no choice but to pull him to a corner and whisper:

"Manager Sun, what exactly do you want? They refuse to admit it, and I'm at a loss. I can't just arrest everyone on duty, can I?"

Manager Sun's face was grim:
"That's exactly what I mean! Since everyone's playing dumb and being dishonest, then let's punish everyone on duty! Bring down all those on duty to be punished!"

Zhao Hongbin became anxious:

"There are at least forty or fifty people on the city wall. Do you really want me to punish them all? Aren't you afraid they'll cause trouble?"

Manager Sun squinted and thought for a moment, then also felt it was inappropriate, so he backed down:
"Then let's just pick two people at random and make an example of them to deter others!"

He knew very well that he had to teach these soldiers a lesson today.

If no one is punished this time, wouldn't it make people think that they can steal things freely in Wangzhuang?

If this continues, won't Wangzhuang be completely emptied out?
Forced into a corner, Zhao Hongbin had no choice but to nod in agreement, thinking that a few strokes of the military rod would suffice as a token gesture.

So he randomly picked two unlucky guys, ordered his personal guards to tie them up, and took them to the city wall.

Zhao Hongbin had his personal guards read out the military law regulations in front of everyone, and then ordered them to strip several men of their clothes, intending to beat them with a few sticks to settle the matter.

But Steward Sun couldn't stand it any longer and shouted:

"Wait! Lieutenant General Zhao, who are you trying to fool? A few lashes and that's it?"

He stepped forward, snatched the military baton, and threw it aside.
"That won't do! I demand that they be paraded through the camp with arrows through their teeth, and taken around the village so that the other soldiers can see them properly, to prevent them from being dishonest and doing such petty theft again!"

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(End of this chapter)