Chapter 691 The wind is accompanied by the sand and dance
At this time, Chu Qing and his party had arrived at Jinge Town, which was regarded as the boundary of the border.
Jinge, a military town, is a transit place for grain, grass and ordnance in the pass.
The dilapidated city walls are mottled and old, and yellow sand has destroyed this old city for more than a hundred years.
Military towns do not have county magistrates or magistrates, only garrison generals. As garrison generals, they also govern a Zhechong Prefecture, and their official position is the captain of Zhechong Prefecture.
Chu Qing and his party consisted of more than fifty people. When these people arrived outside the city, they would naturally alert Xue Kui, the top administrator of Jinge Town.
Xue Kui was wearing black armor, with twenty soldiers behind him coming out of the south gate.
Tong Gui rode on his horse and spoke loudly. He did not mention Langya Wang Changxian, but only mentioned Chu Qing's official position, commander of the Thousand Cavalry Battalion, military supervisor of the three border gates, and son of Si'an County.
Tong Gui did not dismount at all, because even if his rank in the palace was not mentioned, his position in the Ministry of War was higher than that of Xue Kui.
Xue Kui was around forty, with a short and stocky build and ordinary facial features, except for his small eyes, which looked a bit like mouse eyes.
He quickly came to Chu Qing and knelt down on one knee.
"The last general, Xue Kui, has met Lord Jianzheng."
At the border, Chu Qing, the commander-in-chief of a thousand cavalry battalions, and his status as a nobleman were of little value. Only the supervisor could barely get along with the border troops.
Chu Qing leaned forward and lay on the horse, half-smiling but not smiling, and did not let Xue Kui get up.
With Chu Qing's identity, there is naturally no need to worship the dock, or even to worship a little Captain Zhechong.
Since you don't worship the dock, you must establish your authority.
Chu Qing stared at Xue Kui, wanting to know if Xue Kui had the qualifications to establish his authority.
Civil servants are not all bad people.
Military generals are not all good people.
As for the frontier army, not all generals were as loyal and courageous as Feng Luo.
Xue Kui came from the Xue family in Xunyang Road, a family that relied on mountains and rivers to eat and drink. It was close to the border, so it was natural to eat the border troops and suck human blood. This was the Xue family.
The Xue family is not a wealthy family and has only been inherited for more than fifty years, but this Xue Kui is an "extraordinary" figure.
Most of the ordnance and grain and grass in the pass pass through Jinge Town first, and then go around the original city. This means that the grain and grass pass through Xue Kui's place as the first step after passing the border pass.
Xue Kui was not greedy, he did not want food, wages, or weapons, but he drank blood.
The border troops are poor, so logically they have nothing to draw blood from, but in fact, if people's hearts become bad, the devil will tremble.
What Xue Kui wants is not money, but "merit".
According to Xiao Yi, the frontier army made gains every year. Even if there was no war, sending elite soldiers out to hunt down some Liangrong rangers could still be regarded as meritorious service.
This achievement, not to mention the generals at the border, couldn't see it, but with their arrogance, they didn't think they could take advantage of it.
But if you talk about it in two parts, you can also repay your merits and accumulate them slowly.
In Xue Kui's eyes, mosquitoes are still meat no matter how small they are. He will take all the credit for this. Every year he goes to Wangyuan City to report his merits.
The city memorial was reported to the Ministry of War in central Beijing.
The generals of the border army were not fools. They could not give Xue Kui his generalship in vain. The reason why he did so was because Xue Kui could ask for food and grass.
Xue Kui's route was not to Wangyuan City, but to the Ministry of War. According to the information obtained by the Qianqi Battalion, Xue Kui once boasted that he could only get food, grass and supplies. Opening his mouth was a sign of affection, but not speaking was a duty.
This is the reason why Chu Qing hesitates to take advantage of Xue Kui to establish his authority and pretend to take the credit!
Xue Kui lowered his head and knelt on one knee. He didn't hear any movement for a long time. He raised his head and saw Chu Qing's half-smiling look and his malicious eyes.
"Sir, the last general..."
Chu Qing played with the riding whip and nodded slightly: "Get up."
"yes."
Standing up, Xue Kui's expression changed slightly and his eyes fell on Xiao Yi: "It's you, the traitor!"
Xiao Yi followed Fu San's example and stared at the sky.
"General Xue." Chu Qing stroked the horse on his crotch and said quietly: "You mean, I, the commander, the emperor's personal army, brought a traitor with him?"
Xue Kui was sweating like rain: "The last general will not dare."
Chu Qing laughed loudly, and Xue Kui bravely said, "Can I lead the horse for you, General?"
"OK."
Without saying a word, Xue Kui stepped forward and took the reins in Chu Qing's hand.
This move is undoubtedly suspected of flattery, but in fact it is no longer flattery, but a humble attempt to please.
Even the generals who guard the courtyards of important people do not know how to lead horses. Those who lead horses are usually servants.
After all, Xue Kui was also a fifth-rank captain of Zhechong Mansion. He led his troops out of the city. It would be detrimental to his prestige if he just led his horse into the city.
Chu Qing still leaned forward and looked at Xue Kui.
Xue Kui, a short, stocky man with dark skin, looked intently and had a few drops of sweat on his forehead.
Chu Qing didn't like such a general, he really didn't like him.
He likes Feng Luo, like a javelin that pierces the sky and darkness, and would rather break than bend.
He likes Tan Zhongping, who is carefree, but also has a delicate side, and values honor more than life.
He also likes Xiao Yi, who is naive, optimistic, and willing to sacrifice everything for the justice in his heart.
The only thing he didn't like was people like Xue Kui, who could grovel and flatter anyone at any time. Such a person should not be a border general.
Not to mention Xue Kui's greed for merit, just the flesh of Pi Wenchen, a military commander, made Chu Qing disgusted. Soldiers should not lead horses for others, not even him, Chu Qing!
The city gate of Jinge Town has not been closed for countless years, and the bottom has long been buried by yellow sand.
In fact, border military towns like this should be opened early and closed late.
But just like what Chu Qing said at the beginning, if a foreign enemy comes and breaks into the border, what can be done with a broken door?
This is the border, this is the army. They never do meaningless things. They don’t have that spare time, nor that spare strength. They will use all their efforts and all their strength outside the border wall to kill the enemy thieves.
Just kill outside the border gate.
After entering the city, looking around, there were all disorganized low buildings.
There is only one word for these low-rise houses: dilapidated.
The textures on the walls of those wooden low-rise houses have been blurred, and the long years have peeled off the skin of the walls. Each low-rise house has no structure at all. The strong wind blows the broken windows and makes them look old and unsightly.
It describes the vicissitudes of this ancient military town.
There are very few pedestrians in Jinge Town. Most of them are elderly people. Many of them are disabled and should be retired soldiers. No one is walking. They are just sitting outside the door and looking at the wind and sand in the sky.
A group of strangers came to the city, riding horses, carrying long knives, and wearing extraordinary clothes. However, for the people of Jinge Town, there was no feeling in their hearts.
The garrison general Xue Kui always brought some richly dressed people into the city, and they were used to it.
These people come and go, come and go, with different faces and different costumes. The only thing that remains unchanged is the wind and sand in the sky. The people in the town have long been numb.
Depression and decline are the only two words that can describe Jinge Town.
The garrison mansion, let's call the building in front of Chu Qing the garrison mansion, was not built in the middle of the town, but was built near the north gate.
Doing this is obviously weird, but at the border, it is normal.
Everything at the border is for the border army and the war.
It was built close to the north gate because it was the fastest way to get news about the front line and the fastest way to know whether foreign enemies were coming.
The building is very tall, but not big. It is considered a government office. There are no fences, only Juma, which is deeply embedded in the yellow sand.
After rejecting the horse, there is a building of more than five meters high that is made of stone and wood. There is an observation deck in the attic. Two soldiers are looking at the north side. They have been doing this for decades. Their job is just to look at the north side and wait for the smoke to rise.
rise.
This was the impression Chu Qing had when he arrived at the first border military town. It was dilapidated, decayed, and depressed. People were like walking corpses, living and dying at the border. They came to this world crying and left this world in silence and numbness.
, Accompanied by the yellow sand and the strong wind.
