The first seventy-four chapters return with a reward (2)
Zeng Hualong said: "I recommended you as the Shandong General Soldier in the memorial reported to the court."
Shang Yi couldn't help being surprised and said: "What? Shandong General Soldier?"
Among the official positions in the Ming Dynasty, the general soldier was the highest position among military generals. He was a general who was stationed on one side and had real power. At this time, there were a total of 23 towns of general soldiers throughout the Ming Dynasty, and Shandong general soldier was one of them. It was quite large.
So he became the commander-in-chief of the Shandong Military Region in later generations. However, the general soldiers of the Ming Dynasty were divided into two types: general soldiers with general seal and general soldiers without general seal. Although the actual power was the same, the former was one level higher than the latter.
The General Soldier of Shandong belongs to the category that does not bear the seal of general.
In fact, when nothing happened, Shang Yi also calculated what official he would be promoted to. According to his statistics, during the Qing army's invasion of Guan, he fought a total of thirteen battles, large and small, and won all of them, regaining Linqu.
In the two counties of Licheng and Jinan Prefecture, more than 17,000 people were beheaded and more than 900 people were captured. This does not include the previous achievements in suppressing rogue bandits and rescuing Yanzhou Prefecture.
But with such merit, Shang Yi estimated that he should not only be promoted to a guerrilla general, but should be able to reach the level of staff general or deputy general, and then concurrently serve as the commander of the garrison or the garrison. But Shang Yi really didn't think about it.
After that, I will be promoted to the rank of Chief Soldier. This is not because Shang Yi's merits are not enough, but because from Chief Qian to Chief Soldier, he is promoted from the lowest level to the highest level almost immediately. The promotion is too fast. Don't say it.
There was no such precedent in the Ming Dynasty, and even in the previous dynasties, no such example could be found. However, he did not expect that Zeng Hualong would recommend himself as the commander-in-chief of Shandong. How could Shang Yi not be surprised?
Zeng Hualong waved his hand and said: "Shang Yi, you don't have to be too surprised. In fact, with your merits and abilities, it is not an exaggeration to be promoted to the rank of general. However, such a promotion is definitely too fast, and this
It's just my recommendation to the court. Whether the court agrees or not is unknown. But even if the court doesn't agree this time, you don't have to worry about it. Because you are still young and talented. And now the court is in troubled times, with internal and external troubles.
, the wars continue, there will definitely be opportunities in the future, not to mention the commander-in-chief, the commander-in-chief, the officialdom, and even the title of marquis, it is not impossible, it is just a few years later. So I hope you will do more in the future
Encourage yourself and be diligent in official affairs. In the future, you will be able to report to the imperial court to stabilize the country and bring peace to the people and honor your ancestors. I will live up to my promotion to you that day, and now I recommend you again."
Shang Yi actually didn't care too much about the size of his official position, because the Ming Dynasty's life span was less than one year, so what if he made himself a king? When Li Zicheng invaded Beijing a year later, everything was settled.
Fuyun. What he needs now is actually a legitimate title so that he can seize this year to quickly expand his strength. In this sense, the commander-in-chief, deputy general, deputy general, and even guerrilla general are actually guerrillas.
There is not much difference, as long as you continue to lead the troops. Just like now, although I am only a small thousand general, I have soldiers, guns, money and food, so I don't have to worry about anything.
However, Zeng Hualong had good intentions towards him after all, so Shang Yi was still very grateful to him, and saluted him: "My lord, please rest assured, I will definitely live up to your expectations in this humble position."
Zeng Hualong nodded and said: "I heard that in order to resist the chief slaves, you recruited many soldiers during this period. So how many troops do you have now?"
Shang Yi was stunned for a moment. He didn't understand why he asked this. He was also a little nervous, because the standard number of soldiers for a Qian Commander-in-Chief was only a thousand. But he couldn't hide it, so he answered honestly: "Same, sir."
I know how the small army in Mulingguan City can withstand the chief slaves, so I have to recruit some common people to join the army. However, I have not detailed the number of people, it is probably more than 20,000."
Zeng Hualong smiled and said: "In extraordinary times, this is also an expedient move and is excusable. Moreover, although the chief slaves have retreated, the court is still not at peace. Rogue bandits are causing chaos in the Huguang area of the Central Plains, so the military preparedness must not be relaxed.
Since these soldiers are all those who have done meritorious service with you, then you should stay here without disbanding them. If there is another battle in the future, you might as well do your best for the court. After you are officially appointed, you can apply for military registration for them. I listen.
He said that your troops have good military discipline and hope to continue to maintain it."
Shang Yi breathed a sigh of relief after hearing this and said hurriedly: "Thank you, sir. Please rest assured. The humble army will never harass the people and harm the countryside. However, the small area of Mulingguan City cannot accommodate so many troops."
Therefore, I would like to temporarily station the soldiers and their families in the two counties of Linxian and Qingshui until the court's arrangements are issued.
Zeng Hualong nodded and said: "That's fine. After we let the soldiers settle down, we can focus on training and killing the enemy. Anyway, now that Linqu and Qingshui counties have been looted by their chief slaves, you can arrange the families of the soldiers in these two counties."
If this place is converted into a military household, it will be appointed by the imperial court in the future. I don’t think there will be any need to arrange it separately. I will just classify these two counties as your jurisdiction."
Shang Yi cupped his fists again and said, "Thank you, sir."
Zeng Hualong said again: "Twenty thousand soldiers plus their families, there are at least 70,000 to 80,000 people. Relocating these people will cost a lot of money. I wonder how much shortfall you have?"
Shang Yi said: "I will tell you the truth, my lord. This time I regained Jinan. I did such a humble job as to seize some materials, money and food from the chief slaves. It is enough to resettle these people, so I won't bother you." After a pause, he continued.
Thinking of it, he said: "Your Majesty will need to accommodate hundreds of thousands of people. I don't know if the savings in the government will be enough to use it. If not, my humble position will be able to support one or two."
It is indeed a daunting problem to resettle hundreds of thousands of people. Shang Yi was willing to take over the resettlement of tens of thousands of soldiers' families without Zeng Hualong having to bear the cost. This relieved him a lot of burden. Of course Zeng Hualong
I know that after Shang Yi regained Jinan, he must have grabbed a lot of materials, money and food from the Qing army. However, since Shang Yi won the battle, naturally all these things should be owned by Shang Yi, and he wanted to accommodate the families of the soldiers.
, is also a big expense, so he said: "Shang Yi, I appreciate your kindness, but your burden is not light, so there is no need to let you spend it. Although the savings in the treasury are not enough, but
I’ll come back and think of another way!”
Shang Yi said: "Don't worry, sir. I have gained a lot from the recovery of Jinan this time. In addition to resettling the army, I can also save some money. I am willing to donate it to you to better resettle the people. I can provide one hundred thousand taels."
Silver, 50,000 shi of grain, just to express my feelings."
After Zeng Hualong heard this, he couldn't help being surprised and asked: "Is that so much?" Although he estimated that Shang Yi had gained a lot in Jinan, he never expected that Shang Yi would seize it from the Qing army.
One million she taels of silver, hundreds of thousands of grain. One hundred thousand taels of silver, fifty thousand shi of grain, to Shang Yi, it was actually only a small amount.
Shang Yi smiled and said: "Sir, these money and grains were originally robbed from the people by the chiefs' slaves. Since they were taken from the people, they should be used for the people now. It's just that a humble position can only give so much money and food.
If you ask for more, you won’t have any more.”
Zeng Hualong hurriedly said: "Enough, enough, with this money and food, it is enough to resettle these people. I didn't expect that you are so young, but you are a person who values people over wealth. Not only did you rescue these people, you also provided money and food."
It’s really shameful that I, as the governor, can’t do anything to accommodate them.” Zeng Hualong stood up, bowed to Shang Yi, and said, “I can’t thank you enough for those people.”
Shang Yi hurriedly stood up and returned the courtesy, saying: "My lord, what you said is all for serving the imperial court and stabilizing the place. My lord, I would like to express my gratitude. I feel ashamed to hold such a humble position now."
The two sat down again. Because they had received the 100,000 taels of silver and 50,000 shi of food promised by Shang Yi, Zeng Hualong also felt that the pressure on him was greatly reduced, and his impression of Shang Yi became a little more favorable. At this time, Shang Yi
Then he said: "Sir, this time we have recovered Jinan Prefecture. It has been more than ten days since I left Muling Pass. There are still many things in Guancheng. I can't worry about it. If there are no other things in Qingzhou Prefecture, I want to go there."
I say goodbye to your lord and will return to Mulingguan tomorrow."
Zeng Hualong was in a good mood and said with a smile: "Don't you miss your lovely wife at home?"
Being teased by Zeng Hualong, Shang Yi couldn't help but feel embarrassed and said: "Sir, I..."
Zeng Hualong smiled again, waved his hands and said: "Needless to say, I was just joking with you, don't take it seriously. However, when you got married, the chief slaves invaded, so I didn't come to congratulate you.
, I didn’t send any congratulatory gifts, but tomorrow morning I will be preparing to make up for it with a congratulatory gift to show my appreciation."
In fact, when Zeng Hualong heard that Shang Yi got married during the invasion of the Qing army, he felt quite dissatisfied. He felt that Shang Yi was too anxious to marry a wife. It would not be too late after the Qing army retreated. After all, he was still a young man.
, don’t know the priorities of things.
However, how to characterize this matter depends entirely on the outcome. If Shang Yi cannot defend Muling Pass and is defeated by the Qing army after his marriage, he can be labeled as selfish and forgetful, or even greedy.
A big hat with a lustful appearance. But after Shang Yi got married, he repeatedly defeated the attacks of the Qing army and achieved extraordinary achievements. Then the nature is completely different. On the contrary, it can become a romantic story.
So Zeng Hualong smiled again and said: "You are newlyweds. You will naturally miss me after being separated for such a long time. How can I be the person who ruins this scenery? There is nothing going on here! You can go back tomorrow and make good arrangements for the military family members.
. But you must be prepared, because the imperial court's decree will probably be issued soon. At that time, I will take you to Beijing to meet the emperor. I heard that you have captured many prisoners and captured them.
Prepare some decent swords, guns, armor and flags, and bring them to the capital when the time comes. Maybe the emperor will let you present prisoners for a military parade if he is happy."
Shang Yi also nodded and said: "I understand, sir. Please rest assured. I will definitely be ready and the emperor will be happy to see you."