The Ming Dynasty started with caution

Xuanfu, Zhangjiakou Fort.

In the lobby of the camp, Zhu Houzhao drank a sip of tea calmly.

Feng Shisan saw Zhu Houzhao wearing precious silk, with a white dragon fish pendant hanging around his waist, and even his belt was made of rare rhinoceros skin.

"I want to kill you. If you don't die, I will believe that you are a person from heaven."

If Lao Gao was here, what would he say?

Zhu Houzhao's eyes flashed with wisdom: "Why bother? Why not do this, you kill yourself, if I can save you, you will believe that I am a person from heaven, how about that?"

You take me for a fool? What if I can't save you!

Feng Shisan narrowed his eyes slightly: "Although I don't know why you fell from the sky, if you are not a mortal, you would have escaped by your own ability, why are you trapped here!"

The big black ball is cowhide, and there is a rattan basket underneath, nothing special.

Lin Liu was always a little hesitant: "If he is really a man from heaven, killing him will only bring disaster. It is better to listen to what he says first and see if he can help us?"

In the hall, Zhu Houzhao sat at the bottom, and Gu Dayong, who was lying on the ground, didn't know whether he was dead or alive.

Outside the hall, the bandits surrounded it tightly.

Feng Shisan thought for a while and said to Zhu Houzhao: "I have been a bandit for eleven years. The brothers in the camp fled from the border town. I am from Yongning and became a refugee.

Now, the court has led its troops to the north. If the Tatars are pacified, it will be a disaster for the camp. We will have no place to stay."

Lin Liu added: "Can you make us get the yellow book and return to the people?"

Zhu Houzhao raised his head slightly and looked at the skinny bandits outside the hall.

Chaijiabao, on the edge of Xuanfu, borders with Tatars, no wonder it breeds bandits.

There are Wanquan Right Guard, Wanquan Left Guard and Huaian Guard around, with strong military forces, and there are very few places where bandits can plunder.

"This heavenly man can not only make you return to the people, but also make you a marquis and a prime minister."

Feng Shisan looked at Zhu Houzhao with a stern face, are you dreaming here?

Their heads are all on the government's wanted notice.

After killing someone, it is a blessing to be able to return to the people. How dare you expect to be a marquis and a prime minister, unless you rebel and establish yourself.

Zhu Houzhao said: "There is a war on the border. If you follow me to fight and win military merits, you will be pardoned by the Ming court. This palace is the decision."

Go out to kill the Tatars?

Feng Shisan and others' faces darkened. The Tatar cavalry is extremely elite, and even the officers and soldiers of the nine borders can hardly match them.

Wouldn't they go to die?

A thin man holding a fortune-telling canvas walked in and said in a panic: "Boss, the three guards of Xuanfu are all out, and there are also imperial guards. They are going to search the forests from Chaigoubao to Yutailing."

Buzz!

Feng Shisan and Lin Liu's faces collapsed, and they couldn't help but tighten their knives nervously.

Zhu Houzhao was stern. The Jinyiwei had actually found Xuanfu.

In less than two days, they can search here. If these bandits don't leave, he will definitely be captured by the imperial guards and taken back to the capital.

Lin Liu looked at Feng Shisan and said: "Boss, the only way is to escape outside the pass. Since ancient times, the court has dealt with bandits by beheading!" Zhu Houzhao stood up happily, with his hands behind his back: "What if we escape outside the pass? If the Tatars are pacified, the whole world will belong to the emperor, not to mention that you all have lives hanging on your heads."

The Tatar grassland is very large, and they make a living by raising livestock. The looting is even worse than that of the Ming Dynasty.

There are often disputes between tribes. There are more than 10,000 people in the mountain stronghold. If they enter the grassland, they will be targeted.

Zhu Houzhao said seriously: "You only have one hour to think about it. The three guards of Xuanfu have cavalry. If they find traces, they can catch you within a day."

Feng Shisan thought for a long time.

There are only more than 20 horses in the camp. The old, weak, women and children are all migrating, and they will be caught by the cavalry of Xuanfu.

"What do you want?"

"You will follow me to the war. In exchange, I will leave something to protect your wife and children." Zhu Houzhao took off the white dragon jade pendant from his waist.

This is a thing in the palace, and it is often worn around the waist. The guards know that he has been here at a glance.

Feng Shisan has no intention of escaping by himself. His portrait is hung in the government.

If he is found, he will be captured in exchange for a bounty.

"I'll believe you once, but we have no soldiers and no food, how can we get out of the pass?"

"Xuanfu is close to Datong. We will get out of the pass from Xiyang River. Once we get outside the pass, the court will naturally not chase us. The soldiers will go first, and the food will come later.

Send people to Tianzhen to spread the news and collect food at a high price. The gentry will definitely find ways to transport the food outside the pass.

If it doesn't work, we can also rob the Tatars."

"Okay, I'll listen to you first."

"From today on, I am the mighty general of conquering the captives, you are the general of conquering the captives, you are the general of the cavalry, and you are the thousand households below. Do you remember all of this?" Zhu Houzhao said, selecting the soldiers and generals.

The bandits looked confused.

...

Outside the pass, there is a vast grassland.

Wang Shouren rode a maroon horse and walked to the front of the army. On the side of the army, an extremely fast horse rushed over.

The spy turned over and dismounted, handing over an urgent report.

Wang Shouren opened it slightly and saw that it was from Brother Gao:

The prince left Beijing, if there is any trace, report to the court.

Wang Shouren found it strange that Brother Gao ordered to report to the court, not to capture and bring back to the court.

There is a huge difference between the two.

"Send three people to guard Yutai Ridge, Zhangjiakou Fort, and Songshu Fort in Xuanfu. If you find the trace of His Royal Highness, report to the cabinet Lord Yan."

"Yes!"

Wang Shouren looked at the letter carefully, and did not mention the expedition.

The army would consume tens of thousands of food and grass for one day's march, and it was necessary to return to Beijing as soon as possible, so he ordered to speed up the march.

...

Beijing, Forbidden City.

Duke of England Zhang Mao took the plaque and walked quickly to the Fengtian Hall: "Your Majesty, the Beijing Camp recruits 150,000 soldiers. This is the monthly military pay."

Xiao Jing walked down and passed the booklet up.

Emperor Hongzhi frowned: "7 cents of silver per day, how come I remember that the Shenji Camp only had 6 cents of silver, has the price increased?"

7 cents of silver, issued to a hundred thousand troops, requires a huge income to support every day.

Zhang Mao secretly spat, the civil servants have increased their salaries, but the military officials cannot increase their salaries?

"Reporting to Your Majesty, the civil servants have increased their salaries by 30%, but the military pay has not changed. I think it should also increase."

Wang Qiong hesitated and swallowed what he wanted to say.

Although there is a lot of surplus silver in the treasury, there are tens of millions of taels of silver, but there are also a lot of uses. A single use is several million taels, and it will be gone in two seconds.

Yan Chengjin nodded: "If the military pay is not raised, there will inevitably be inequality between the civil and military officials. I think that the soldiers of the Shenji Camp can be given another one-cent silver increase to show preferential treatment."

"Lord Yan, where does the silver come from? Now that the able-bodied men are being drafted into the army, it hurts farmers, and the taxes must not be high. We should save expenses." Wang Qiong retorted cautiously.

He had never worried about the accountant in his own house like this.

Only after becoming the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue did he realize that accounting makes people old, as if he owed these dog officials millions of dollars, and they chased for silver every day.

Yan Chengjin tilted his head slightly and glanced at Wang Qiong.

Emperor Hongzhi nodded: "With the strong men being drafted into the army, the number of people farming has decreased sharply. What Wang Qingjia said makes sense. We should think about how to collect taxes this year."

The war between the Tatars and the Ming Dynasty will definitely not end in just a few months.

This time is different from the past. We want to bring the Tatars back to the Ming Dynasty, which means we have to chase them deep into the grasslands and leave no harm.

The rear must not be cut off from food.

Yan Chengjin fell into deep thought.