Chapter 180: The nobles and military households who are like cattle and horses

Chapter 180: The nobles and military households who are like cattle and horses

Chapter 180: The nobles and military households who are like cattle and horses
The next morning, before daybreak,
Lu Yunyi quietly opened his eyes, but found that Liu Wanyi beside him had disappeared.

Lu Yunyi frowned slightly, a hint of dissatisfaction flashed in his eyes, and he decided to drink less in the future, and he didn't even notice when the person next to him left.

He put on his clothes and walked out of the house. Candles were already lit in the originally dark main hall, and the orange-yellow light dimly illuminated the small courtyard.

I can see some food has been placed on the table.
Liu Wanyi looked back, her face lit up with joy, and she waved quickly:

"Husband, come and have some porridge before leaving home."

Before he could answer, the figures of his mother Liu and father appeared, as well as Qiu He's little head, and they all waved at Lu Yunyi.

Lu Yunyi stood there in a daze, feeling very complicated.
Finally, he took a step forward.

The meal was simple, consisting of millet porridge, eggs, and a few pickled vegetables.

Lu Yunyi sat down, took the egg from Liu Wanyi, and ate it silently.

The same thing happened to the family; the atmosphere was a little depressing and everyone looked at each other in silence.

The dim candlelight flickered slightly, and Lu Yunyi's eyes were empty.
There was no thought in my mind at all, and my tense mood of several days finally relaxed.

It was still dark, and although the candlelight was not noticeable in the darkness, Lu Yunyi felt it was particularly precious.

In less than a quarter of an hour, he had finished the bowl and the four eggs.

He took the handkerchief handed to him by Wanyi, wiped his mouth, turned it over and wiped his face with it.

He said solemnly: "Father and mother, Wanyi Qiuhe, I will leave first."

Lu Dangjia's face was calm, and he nodded gently: "Go slowly on the road."

Liu's eyes were filled with tears, and she nodded gently:

"Yier, it's hot in the south, don't make yourself suffer."

"My husband, let's go on the journey, take a look at the beautiful scenery of the Ming Dynasty, and be happier." A hint of reluctance flashed across Liu Wanyi's face, but she still forced a smile.

"Master, come back soon." Qiu He's voice was filled with tears. She burst into tears and quickly ran away.

Lu Yunyi didn't look at them, but stayed on the empty bowl, and nodded silently:
"Then I'll go first."

After saying that, Lu Yunyi stood up and turned to leave.

The doorman, Lao Zhang, had already prepared the war horses and luggage.

Seeing Lu Yunyi passing by, he quickly handed it over.

"Master, please write home more often. The master and mistress are both thinking about you."

"I will."

Pulling the reins, Lu Yunyi's eyes gradually became sharper.

The elegant gentleman's temperament disappeared, replaced by a sharp aura, as if he had become a general who had fought in the battlefield for a long time.

Soon, the sound of horse hooves stepping on the bluestone road was heard.
Then it gradually faded away, the sky gradually brightened, and the sadness in the Lu Mansion had no place to hide anymore.

An hour later, the South Gate of Gyeongju opened wide.

The road from the northern camp to the southern city gate was blocked by the Qingzhou Guards, and no one was allowed to enter the road.

The people looked surprised, but they understood something in their hearts, so they hid on both sides of the road, waiting patiently.

Soon, the ground seemed to shake, and the sound of violent horse hooves came from the north of Gyeongju.

Boom, boom, boom, it's getting louder and louder, and the sound is getting closer and closer.

Finally, at the end of the road, a tall horse that looked a bit out of place suddenly rushed out. Before the people could react,

Armored like black ink, with swords and spears everywhere, the front scouts rushed through Gyeongju City like a torrent.
The cold wind blew the people's long hair and lifted the corners of their clothes.

The black armor shone with a cold luster in the faint morning light, and every piece of armor exuded a murderous aura.

The large flag with the word "Lu" on it rose and fell violently in the formation, fluttering in the wind.

The leader, Lu Yunyi, was riding a warhorse, with a long sword on his waist, and his face was calm.
Every stride the warhorse took caused his lower body to rise and fall slightly, but his upper body was as stable as a mountain.

The people looked at him sideways, their eyes lingering on his face for a long time, until all the scouts of the front army disappeared in Gyeongju City.

The departure of the front-line scouts left the people of Gyeongju feeling empty.
Lu Yunyi and others were raised by the people of Qingzhou. Now that the children have become successful, it is always a good thing, but they can never return home.

The people understood, but they also felt a little sad.

Twenty days later, the scouts of the vanguard army, who had been traveling day and night, finally caught up with the returning army in Pei County, Nanzhili.

When they left, the army had 150,000 soldiers and civilians, as well as more than 100,000 grassland captives.
But now, judging from the size of the camp, there are only 50,000 soldiers left in the army.
All the grassland captives also dispersed, leaving less than 10,000 people, along with some grassland dignitaries.

Most of the missing civilians and soldiers were dismissed along the way and returned to their hometowns.

The subsequent rewards and military merits were distributed by Yingtianxia and local garrisons. As for the wages of the civilians, the army had already paid them.

The soldiers' wages and rewards for military merit can be delayed.

But the payment of the laborers could not be delayed for a single day and had to be paid in advance.

If we delay today, the imperial court will not be able to recruit civilians tomorrow.

As for the grassland captives, most of them stayed in Beiping and Daning.
They were dispersed and settled, waiting for the imperial court's order to be issued, and then they would be sent to various border towns to build cities and the Great Wall.

Lu Yunyi stopped in front of the military camp with a look of emotion on his face.

As he walked along, he had only one feeling: construction was going on everywhere.

Cities were being built, canals dug, and wasteland reclaimed.
The words "the newly established Ming Dynasty" now took shape in my mind. The entire Ming Dynasty was being rebuilt from north to south, and it had lasted for nearly twenty years.

Not only Lu Yunyi and other border residents were shocked,
The grassland captives, such as the King of Liao, the King of Huining, and Marshal Duoyan, had only one thought in their minds at this moment.
Why do you overestimate your own capabilities and go against the Ming Dynasty's soldiers?

As we walked along, everyone had only one feeling: there were people everywhere.

Tens of thousands of people built cities, tens of thousands of people dug ditches, tens of thousands of people opened canals, and tens of thousands of people diverted rivers.

There are even more wastelands to be reclaimed, countless and covering the mountains and plains.

When they rested in the wilderness, they could see tents built in various places.
After several inquiries, it was discovered that they were all soldiers from the garrison, reclaiming wasteland on the mountain and preparing to plant trees and plow the fields.

Thanks to Lu Yunyi's status as Lan Yu's confidant, he had seen some documents in the central army tent.
When I first saw it it was just a piece of text, but when I actually saw it with my own eyes, I was so shocked that I couldn’t put it into words.

From the first year of Hongwu to the sixteenth year of Hongwu, when the Yellow Book of Fish Scales was not yet complete, it was recorded that two million hectares of wasteland had been reclaimed.
From the 16th year of Hongwu to the 21st year of Hongwu, this record was changing by leaps and bounds every moment.

By the 21st year of Hongwu, 36,000 weirs had been built in prefectures and counties across the country, 4,000 rivers had been opened up, and 5,000 embankments had been built.
In addition, there were cities of all sizes from south to north, almost all of which were rebuilt.
Magnificent city walls were also built in important military locations such as Peking, Yingtian, Xi'an, Jingzhou, Xiangyang, and Datong.

There was also the border Great Wall, which consumed a lot of manpower and material resources and was almost completed by the 21st year of Hongwu.

The Pei County in front of us and Xuzhou not far away are both places that are fought over by soldiers and horses all over the world. They are located at the throat of the north and south and have also been rebuilt.

Lu Yunyi suddenly felt fortunate that the soldiers in the garrison did not need to be paid for their work.

Otherwise, these civil engineering projects alone would have brought down the Ming Dynasty, and it would have perished in the second generation like the Qin Dynasty.

Just as Lu Yunyi was thinking, a soldier came running over and shouted before he got close:

"General, please enter the camp. The general orders you to go to the central army tent as soon as possible."

Lu Yunyi smiled, nodded slightly, and waved his hand towards the back:

"Brothers, enter the camp!"

Because he spoke loudly, the skin on Lu Yunyi's face cracked again, and he felt a slight stinging pain.

But he had already gotten used to it and just kept peeling off the dead skin on his face.

Liu Heiying and the military officer calmed the soldiers down.

Lu Yunyi hurried to the central military tent.

The location where the army set up camp was almost the same as in Gyeongju.

It was obviously created by Geng Bingwen, Marquis of Changxing, and it is capable of both offense and defense.

Soon, he saw the imposing central army tent from afar, which was much taller than the other tents.
Lu Yunyi was stunned for a moment, and then he suddenly realized something.

We are no longer on the battlefield, so there is no need to hide the location of the central army tent.
Since the army returned victorious, General Lan Yu should have been more domineering.
This was the first time Lu Yunyi had seen such a large military tent.

From a distance, Lu Yunyi saw Shi Zhengyu standing at the entrance of the military tent, who was as tall as a mountain.
A smile immediately appeared on his face. Shi Zhengyu also stood on tiptoe and looked left and right. When he saw Lu Yunyi, he also smiled!
They were comrades fighting on the same battlefield. After not seeing each other for several months, they felt complicated when they met again.

"Brother Shi!"

"General Lu!" The two walked quickly and hugged each other suddenly.
The black armors collided with each other, making a loud bang, which attracted the attention of the soldiers nearby.

Inside the military tent, Lan Yu did not bury his head in writing on the desk piled with military reports and documents as usual. Instead, he paced around with his hands behind his back.

On one side sat Wang Bi, Marquis of Dingyuan, Guo Ying, Marquis of Wuding, and Geng Bingwen, Marquis of Changxing.

Seeing that he was so impatient, Wuding Hou Guo Ying was not polite:
"General, you are now like the young wife who is waiting for her husband to come home. You can't sleep at all."

The two Guo brothers have been the personal guards of the current emperor since they were eighteen years old. In terms of seniority, they were earlier than Lan Yu, and the two have known each other for nearly thirty years.

Perhaps it was because the war was over, Lan Yu changed his usual temper, smiled, and said with some emotion:
"We have read the military reports. This mission was done very well.
In one fell swoop, they dealt a heavy blow to Liao Wangjun, killing most of their young and strong men.
Within ten years, there will be no more recurrence of Liaowang County, and the northeast of Ming Dynasty will be stable."

"Hahaha, Lu Yunyi looks kind, but he is ruthless when it comes to fighting.
The remnants of the Northern Yuan Dynasty wreaked havoc in Liaowang County, and the Ming Dynasty soldiers came to rescue them. How could he have thought of that? "

Dingyuan Marquis Wang Bi laughed loudly, with an uncontrollable weird look on his face, and he was extremely pleased.
The second son is similar to me, with a simple and honest appearance, a smart mind, and a lot of bad intentions!

Guo Ying, Marquis of Wuding, and Geng Bingwen, Marquis of Changxing, also laughed.

This move is indeed a new approach and firmly occupies the moral position.

The truth is not important.
Whether the people of the Ming Dynasty or the people of the grassland, they would curse the remnants of the royal court for being dishonest.

"coming."

Wang Bi, who had been watching outside the military tent, saw a figure flashing there and quickly reminded them.

The warm and cheerful atmosphere suddenly cooled down.
The smiles on the faces of the military officers gradually faded and turned serious.

Lu Yunyi opened the curtain of the military tent and was shocked.
He paused carefully at the curtain, and his expression gradually became strange.

Unlike the linen used in the past, the curtains this time were made of silk, which felt delicate and cool, and was obviously the finest Jiangnan product.

As I moved my sight, the inside of the military tent was also very different from before.

It is no longer as simple and crude as it was during the Northern Expedition, but instead is filled with luxury.

The tent roof is high and supported by a special bamboo and wood structure.

The outer layer is covered with thin and transparent chiffon tulle, which can block the sun and rain as well as prevent mosquitoes.

In the center of the military tent stood a huge bronze incense burner, and Lu Yunyi's eyes were attracted to it.

The incense burner is simple and solemn in shape, with three legs standing on top of each other.
It stands firmly on a white marble base carved with cloud and water patterns, and is extremely majestic.

The incense burner is wide and thick, with a full belly and intricate and exquisite cloud patterns carved on the body.

The furnace cover was high, with more than ten large holes in the middle, from which curled green smoke.

As he got closer, Lu Yunyi's expression became even more strange.
This is not an incense burner, and the incense inside is not agarwood.
Instead, it is crystal white ice, and the green smoke is a wisp of cold air.

Reluctantly moving his eyes away, Lu Yunyi looked upwards.
Lan Yu was not wearing armor, but an indigo-colored casual dress, with her hair tied up high.
His complexion was no longer as dry and dull as it was during the Northern Expedition. Instead, it became rounder and his skin became whiter.

In front of him was an enormous mahogany table.

The tabletop is as smooth as a mirror, and is engraved with intricate and exquisite cloud and water patterns and exotic animal patterns.
It was filled with a dazzling array of items, including the four treasures of the study, many military newspapers and documents, and various command flags.

When he saw the military newspaper, Lu Yunyi breathed a sigh of relief. It was something familiar to him.

He took a deep breath, looked serious, raised his hands together, and spoke loudly:
"Lt. General Lu Yunyi of the Front Army Scouting Division has returned victoriously and would like to pay his respects to the General and all the Lords."

The sound was clear and loud, echoing in the military tent.
A hint of smile appeared on Lan Yu's serious face.
After looking at Lu Yunyi for a while, he saw that he looked exhausted and nodded slightly:
"It must have been hard chasing all the way."

Lu Yunyi's eyes immediately became solemn, his face became serious, and he said respectfully:

"Reporting to the general, I am a border dweller from the north.
I have only a vague idea of ​​the prosperity of the Ming Dynasty. This trip to the south gave me a glimpse of its prosperity. I am proud of it.”

Lan Yu spoke calmly:
"What have you discovered? If you can't explain it clearly, I will think you are just bragging."

Lu Yunyi's expression was solemn, and his voice was sonorous and powerful:

“I dare not. All the way south, I have felt that the Ming Dynasty is peaceful and prosperous, with vast territory from north to south and all industries are thriving.

The soldiers in the army can also feel the emperor's great grace and benefit all people.

Along the way, I saw that the imperial court was busy with construction projects, building cities, reclaiming wasteland, and constructing river embankments. The people were at peace. This is a prosperous era!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the military officers present looked at each other, satisfaction evident in their eyes.

In the Ming Dynasty today, it is still unknown who is enjoying the most happiness.

But who suffered the most? It was none other than the military households and soldiers.

Not only must we maintain training, but we must also occasionally march north.
Even if there is no war, civil engineering work still has to be done, and there is no rest all year round.

The people present here have spent the past few decades fighting wars and training soldiers.

Another thing was that he supervised the construction of cities and the Great Wall, leaving him no time for enjoyment at all.

Especially Dingyuan Hou Wang Bi and General Lan Yu, there was some bitterness in their eyes at this moment, and they couldn't help but pursed their lips.

The army had not yet reached Yingtian, and the northern expedition had not yet been concluded.

A memorial has already been received from the palace, and next year's tasks have been arranged.

A few years later, Wang Bi, Marquis of Dingyuan, went to Shanxi to train his troops, preparing to defeat the remnants of the Northern Yuan Dynasty in one fell swoop.

The great general Lan Yu had an even harder life, as he was going to Sichuan to supervise the construction of the city the next year.

I don’t know how long I will have to spend practicing and cultivating, and I don’t even have time to enjoy myself.

Compared with the two, Geng Bingwen, Marquis of Changxing, is old and seriously ill, so he has no job for the time being.

Guo Ying, Marquis of Wuding, was responsible for training the imperial guards.

Perhaps because they were talking about something sad, the atmosphere in the room became a little heavy.
The marquises were slow to speak, and Lu Yunyi couldn't help but feel strange.
I didn't know what I said wrong, I just stood there, looking at the huge military tent.

Even though it is summer now, the white tiger carpet from Liaodong is still spread under our feet.
It was very soft to step on. Famous paintings by masters of the Song Dynasty were hung on the east and west sides of the army.
In just three months, the sand table in the central army tent disappeared, and the huge map was gone.

This reminded Lu Yunyi of what his father-in-law said.
In order to save his own life, General Lan Yu used almost all the life-saving methods used by ancient generals.

At least now the things in this military tent,
Lu Yunyi didn't believe that it was bought with General Lan Yu's own money.

From this luxurious military tent, we can get a glimpse that the situation in the court has become extremely serious, otherwise they would not be so impatient.

The room was silent for a long time. Lan Yu sighed and finally put aside the matter of repairing the city.

He sat down and looked at Lu Yunyi, with a smile on his face:
"What you said is a major issue that costs the people money and time in the eyes of the court officials."

Lu Yunyi was slightly stunned, and suddenly raised his head, with a deep doubt in his eyes.
The large-scale demolition and reconstruction at the founding of each dynasty were all achievements. How could some people be so short-sighted?

But soon, after a little thought, he understood.

The military households in the garrisons were directly allocated by the imperial court. The military households and local civilians did not need to be paid for their work, but only needed to provide food.
In this way, there are no middlemen to make a profit from the price difference, and civil engineering projects in various places are progressing at a rapid pace. No wonder there is so much criticism.

After a pause, Lu Yunyi smiled lightly and spoke in a deep voice:
"Reporting to the general, the court is pursuing the prosperity of the Ming Dynasty.
But some people think that it is just a few silver coins, and a young man is not qualified to make plans. How can a sparrow know the ambition of a swan? "

Lan Yu was stunned for a moment, and then burst into laughter.

"Hahahahaha!"

The heavy expressions on the faces of the military officers present disappeared, and were replaced by smiles.

Seeing them like this, Lu Yunyi knew that he had guessed right.
There are indeed people who want to make money from it, but they cannot.

"You always speak directly to the point,

I think you shouldn't join the army. I should send you to the Ministry of Works to build weapons and supervise the construction of cities, so that we can have some free time."

Geng Bingwen, Marquis of Changxing, nodded repeatedly on the side.

Lu Yunyi's face turned dark, and seeing him like this, the military officers started laughing again.

The seven-foot-tall Wuding Marquis Guo Ying laughed:
"You are good at fighting. Even if the Ministry of Industry comes to ask for you, the general will not let you go."

After saying this, Wuding Hou Guo Ying's face became serious. He looked at Lu Yunyi and asked in a deep voice:

"I have something to ask you."

"I will tell you everything I know."

"How did you come up with the idea of ​​blocking smuggling in Liaodong and finding another way to successfully complete the war?"

Wuding Hou Guo Ying's eyes were bright as he stared at Lu Yunyi.

(End of this chapter)