My Daming New Empire

Chapter 34 Expedition

Yang Zhangde originally looked down on the general manager a little bit, although he was only a general manager, not yet a general manager.But Jin Yiwei sees that the official is one level higher, not to mention the general manager, even the general manager Qian, the guard should be polite when he sees him.

Now because he was transferred to the prince's side, he was suddenly promoted to the position of Qianhu, and he looked down on the general manager even more.

But listening to Han Cheng's tone, he knew that he was a veteran. Yang Zhangde got up and said with a smile: "We are all entering the barracks for the first time, and we don't know anything about it. Please ask Han to always give it to the brothers." Introduce one or two."

Han Cheng pointed to their large and small luggage and said: "As the saying goes, the three armies go first before moving food and grass. It has been two months since the emperor decided to march north. During this period, although the army has been dispatched one after another, but The most extensive action is that a total of 40 civilians were mobilized to transport millions of grain and grass to Beiping, the border guards on the nine sides, and the prison guards. Fighting is never a simple killing, but making fewer mistakes than anyone else , who has enough food and grass. However, you are not considered members of the army, so it is useless to tell you this."

Yang Zhangde said with a smile: "Although I am not a member of the army, I am also a man. Naturally, I yearn for fighting on the battlefield. Mr. Han, if you are more familiar with the rules of the army, we will be less ugly around your grandson. If you do more, I hope General Han will teach you."

Han Cheng also wanted to curry favor with these Jin Yiwei, and said with a smile: "Take your luggage as an example. The heavy battalion in the army will count the number of shipments of each army before the army moves. People eat horses chew There is a set of mature strategies for camping, logistics and supply. Without these abilities, I don’t even have the qualifications to lead the army. I am the Duke of England and I am waiting in Xiping. Replenish supplies and bring out the greater capabilities of the army.”

"Since I have settled down the world, there are very few large-scale head-to-head battles. Most of the time, you are chasing after each other. If you can spend [-]% of your energy on the enemy, it will be very good."

Yang Zhangde felt that this was completely different from the war he thought. The officers and soldiers suppressed the bandits, and when the army surrounded them, they would directly hack and kill them.

Listening to what Han Cheng said now, the war was actually spent mainly on traveling and transporting food and grass.

But he didn't want to think about it. Today's Ming army is 280 million, which is almost as large as the total population of Mongolia and Yuan.The Ming army had 50 horses, almost as many as the Mongolian Yuan.

Meng Yuan is now divided into three clans, each of which is very different from Daming, so how dare they confront Da Ming head-on.

Han Cheng said again: "If the four adults don't give up, I will compile your roster for this expedition into Habayashi Guard, so that your luggage can also be arranged for heavy transportation, and you don't have to walk and have to carry your own luggage." .”

"That's kind..." Yang Zhangde saluted with his fists cupped and said, "Thank you, Boss Han, but I don't know if I need to put in some silver taels."

Han Cheng said with a smile: "The rules in the army are very strict. If you are greedy for three taels of ink, you will get thirty big sticks. If you are greedy for five taels of ink, you will be beheaded to show the public. Yang Qianhu don't want to harm me. But if Yang Qianhu is interested, when he arrives in Beiping, please eat a piece of meat." It'll be fine."

"Good to say, good to say..."

He waited to ask again, but he saw Xuanzhen and Yiqingzi leisurely carrying an oiled paper bag onto the boat.

What Yiqingzi held was obviously salted water duck, a special snack of Yingtianfu, while Xuanzhen held several packs of dim sum packed into a package, with the seal of Fengshilou, a famous dim sum shop in Yingtianfu, on it.

Yang Zhangde knew that his senior brother was very important in front of his grandson, so he didn't dare to be careless, so he took the initiative to go forward and salute. "Zhang De pays homage to Senior Brother Xuanzhen, Taoist Master Yiqingzi."

"Zhang De, you have been expelled from the school. You should not use the title of senior brother. From now on, we will all work for the grandson. Just call me to choose the Taoist leader."

Seeing that there was some embarrassment between the two of them, and worried about Yang Zhangde's status as Jinyiwei, Yiqingzi changed the subject with a smile. "Why are you so embarrassed, didn't you arrange your bags in advance?"

Yang Zhangde clasped his fists and said: "This is the first time joining the army, and I don't know the rules. Today is a shame. We ran for dozens of miles in the morning, and we have been settled since it was dark. If we had asked the senior brother and the priest , I won’t be anxious for a long time today.”

Xuan Zhen heard him continue to call senior brother, wanted to say something but didn't say it.Yiqingzi said with a smile: "You are sweating profusely, so it is better not to blow the wind on the deck. If you catch a cold, you will be left behind, and the credit for this expedition will be lost."

Everyone exchanged pleasantries, and Yang Zhangde wanted to ask Han Cheng about the taboos of joining the army, but he heard the sound of drums, and the emperor's driver also arrived at the pier.

On both sides of the pier along the street, hundreds of large pots and stoves were set up, and all the steamed buns came out of the cage. In addition to the big white steamed buns, there were also pots of freshly cooked broth, all of which were carried up by the soldiers of the Huotou Army. Distributed according to the number of people, four big steamed buns per person, and a bowl of broth.

At this time, the world still has two meals a day. After the meal at noon today, the traveling fleet will no longer provide meals today.It will not be until tomorrow when we arrive at the boundary of Yangzhou that there will be food provided by the government along the way.

Yang Zhangde and the others also followed the soldiers of Habayashi Guard, and went up one by one to get the steamed buns, took out the newly bought rice bowls, and made a bowl of broth.

Each person's bowl has a sliced ​​meat of the same size and two pieces of lotus root. Nanyang pepper is placed in the soup, which is glistening.

Although the taste is average, it looks good and is not difficult to swallow.

After everyone finished eating two steamed buns, they stopped eating and put the rest of the steamed buns away until they were hungry at night.Everyone didn't wash their bowls, they wiped them with a dry cloth, and stuffed them directly into their bags.

After a while, the sound of war drums sounded, and everyone gathered on the deck. Not far away, the emperor's boat raised the banner of the five-army governor's mansion.

With the rhythm of the drums, the army boarded the troopships parked on the bank one after another and began to cross the river.

The flag was flying, and all kinds of boats filled the entire river in a short while, which seemed to make people excited.

But the weather was too cold, after watching it for a while, Yang Zhangde found it meaningless.

Han Cheng said: "Let's go, let's settle down first. Before dark, the 10,000+ army may not be able to cross the river."

Taisun's boat is a two-story building boat, which actually has three floors.

The bottom layer is the belly of the ship, and in the middle is a row of stables containing six horses.The sixty paddlers are divided into three shifts, with 20 people in each shift, ten paddling and ten pole poles, which can ensure the uninterrupted movement of the boat.

They eat and live in the belly of the ship, and they cannot go up to the deck at all.

Yang Zhangde and his grandson's bodyguards can only stay on the deck, and more than 50 people can be arranged by themselves.Just find a flat place, unroll the bedding and go to sleep.

Although the conditions were difficult, no one complained, because they already belonged to the most relaxed group of people.

There are only a total of more than 100 ships on this trip, with a maximum load of [-] people, and the rest of the army has to walk thousands of miles.

Moreover, those people not only need to travel eighty miles every day, but they may not necessarily have a place to shelter from the wind and rain when they sleep at night. Compared with those soldiers, they are already lucky enough.

Yang Zhangde looked at the two eunuchs guarding the stairs, and asked Han Cheng in a low voice, "Has Mr. Han ever been to the upper floor? Does the grandson's bedroom look magnificent?"

Han Cheng said with a smile: "Grandfather doesn't like luxury. The room is no different from the lower floor except that the materials are better and cleaner. However, it is said that there are four palace ladies living in the upper floor, so there are eunuchs guarding it. Otherwise, the grandson will not be here." When the time comes, we can go up and take a look.”

"Can you bring female relatives in the army?"

"Others can't do it, but the grandson of course can. The emperor brought a concubine and a few court ladies. If you become a general and lead an army alone, it's not up to you if you want to bring women along."

Yang Zhangde only felt a burst of weeds burning in his heart. Looking at Zhu Zhanji who was standing on the top of the boat not far away, accepting the homage from all walks of life, he wished that he could stand by his side like Li Liang.

Zhu Zhanji hardly slept last night. Since early morning today, he has accompanied Zhu Di to worship the heavens, ancestors, issue edicts, and hold various ceremonies.

It was not until noon that I arrived at the riverside, and then I had to stay on the top of the boat building to accept the visit of the army.

After all, Zhu Di was old, so he stayed for a while at noon, and then went to rest below, and at the same time received some senior generals.

And he could only blow the cold wind on the roof instead of Zhu Di, Li Liang wanted to help him with the screen to block the cold wind, but he stopped him.

Ships carrying some excited soldiers passed by not far away. They looked at the majestic Zhu Zhanji on the roof, and they all bowed and worshiped sincerely.

Every time a ship came, Zhu Zhanji waved to them, which was a bit like a military parade for later generations.

It's just that it's really uncomfortable to stand here this season!

It was not until it was getting late that the soldiers on the last ship were transported across the river, and Zhu Zhanji went down to the downstairs room to report the situation to Zhu Di.

Looking at the heroic Zhu Zhanji, Zhu Di couldn't be more satisfied.After blowing on it for a while, he couldn't bear the cold wind, but after blowing it for a whole half a day, he didn't complain or feel depressed. "Tired?"

"My grandson is not tired. Seeing all the soldiers salute me, my grandson only feels his blood boil."

Zhu Di smiled with satisfaction. "You are also tired all day today, go back and rest, start tomorrow, come to me during the day as a military counselor."

Zhu Zhanji returned to his boat, and Zhu Di gave the order to set off, and the fleet began to set off along the river.

Before it was completely dark, they had to rush to the boundary of Yangzhou downstream and enter the mouth of the canal to rest.