Guo Ning left Tunpu in person and greeted a group of guests at the bottom of the highland.
The number of guests was very large. There were more than thirty people at the head, followed by hundreds of coachmen, hundreds of escorts, and there were no less than two or three hundred drivers in the queue.
The carriages were all heavily loaded, and the mules and horses pulling them were panting. Thousands of kilograms of supplies were piled on each carriage. The carriages were not covered with felt cloth, so that people could see clearly that there was food, salt, and bundles.
There were pigs and sheep, wine, cloth, silver, banknotes, and even piles of copper coins.
Over the years, the imperial court has always discounted the salary and grain promised to the soldiers. For example, the regular troops at the frontier fortress were given two guan of money and one stone of rice. Sometimes they only received a few dollars of money and four tons of rice. Therefore, the soldiers were inevitably hungry and cold, so they increasingly expected to be mobilized.
, a temporary reward issued before the battle.
These materials are the rewards raised by the local government for the newly appointed naval governors. This is the income that the governors of various places must have without formal documents. With this amount, it is enough to pay for ten thousand people.
needed by the army.
The status of the guests is not low. The old man headed by him is Lu Jun, the Dinghai navy observation judge who had met the envoy Yang Chengzhi sent by Guo Ning that day. The other people also have official status, some are assistants in Jiezhen Mansion, and some
The county magistrate of the five counties of Yexian, Zhaoyuan, Laiyang, Jimo and Jiaoshui.
The five counties in Laizhou are all counties with more than 10,000 households according to the records of the imperial court. Therefore, in addition to the county magistrate, there are also county magistrates, county lieutenants, and chief books. These people also arrived in unison, but they did not know where they were.
There are many places far and near from Haicang Town, so how could they come together so coincidentally?
The attitude of the guests was even more humble. A few dozen steps away, these people knelt down and saluted one after another. The judge Lu Jun even wailed, saying that the officials had benefited a lot from the oppression of the Fangtong Military Division and the General Manager of Military and Horses.
Things were out of control, which made the common government difficult and all industries in ruins. Now that the governor has finally arrived, the people will be saved!
Guo Ning didn't answer, just chuckled twice, then led the way, and sent someone to lead the convoy to set up the place.
A group of people walked along the road in front of the camp. When they passed the camp gate, they all noticed a row of heads hanging on poles. Some people whispered, and then others lowered their voices and shouted to stop.
Guo Ning ignored them and led them forward.
The group did not enter Tunbao, but followed the road around the highlands and turned towards the port.
The construction of the road is going smoothly, but the slopes on both sides of the road are high, and the military towers in important places are still crude. Most of them are only in rudimentary form, and a few of them only use rubble and sand as their foundations.
But everywhere they passed, the soldiers on duty were all solemn and upright, and the checkpoints were managed in a strict and orderly manner. Even as Guo Ning, every time he went to a Rongtai checkpoint, he had to answer the password and register first. And the soldiers were also very concerned about this.
Of course, there is nothing unusual about it.
From Tunpu to the port, we met two groups of patrolling soldiers.
When the soldiers saw Guo Ning, they immediately stopped walking and saluted, and Guo Ning immediately returned the salute. The soldiers certainly respected Guo Ning, and Guo Ning's respect for ordinary soldiers was obviously in line with what everyone was used to, a general who drives his soldiers like dogs and horses.
Very different.
So the officials did not dare to neglect and saluted the soldiers one after another. For a while, it caused quite a disturbance.
After a few more steps, you will have to go around the high ground where Tunbao is located, then make another bend and reach the flat seawall south of the port.
Guo Ning slowed down slightly and said in a deep voice: "To be honest with you, before you arrived, I was at the port to greet the fleet and make arrangements to enter the port... The fleet arrived late, and I was a little anxious."
Previously, everyone in Laizhou was holding on to the materials in their hands and standing still, not only because of Wanyan Sala's instructions, but also because of the ideas of many powerful local people in Laizhou.
After all, in the past few years, the government's governance has been chaotic, giving local powerful people more and more room for action. The more the court shrinks, the more they stretch. Once they get used to stretching, they cannot tolerate anyone sent from above.
suppress.
I heard before that the new Jiedushi made his fortune by killing people during the Zhongdu coup. He was originally an ordinary warrior in northern Xinjiang, and he rose to the third rank in one step. So everyone had the same idea and planned to serve in government affairs.
Give Jiedushi a little insight and let him know that managing local military affairs is very different from mindless fighting in the frontier army.
But I never thought that this Jiedushi was very powerful. He mobilized enough grain before going south. Not only was he not in a panic in Haicang Town, he also boldly distributed grain and used thousands of people to work for him.
.Moreover, he was extremely ferocious and casually killed the inspector general of Shandong...
It seems that he is really a warrior from Northern Xinjiang and does not understand the rules! Such a person, whether in the imperial court or in local official circles, will probably not survive for a long time and will be easily removed from power by his colleagues. But under the rule of this person, if you don't bow your head, you will be punished on the spot.
You will suffer a big loss!
Therefore, the people who originally gathered in Ye County, Laizhou to watch the scene, rushed here like fire under their feet, in order to appease the evil tiger.
When they finally heard Guo Ning mention this matter, many people suddenly became sweaty and went to look at Judge Lu Jun.
Lu Jun's legs and feet were not very flexible and he was a little out of breath when walking.
He gasped and said with a smile: "Yes, we all heard that the food and supplies sent by Commander-in-Chief from Zhongdu will arrive in Laizhou by sea in the next two days. But, haha, please don't be dissatisfied, Commander-in-Chief, please help the local government."
Although not many came out, it was just a little bit of caution on our part. Even if the fleet arrives later, with us here, we cannot miss the supply of the commander and the soldiers."
Guo Ning shook his head: "The more food and supplies, the better. Your supplies have really helped me a lot."
With that said, he led the people through the last bend and out of the high-slope forest.
Then everyone saw a large army lining up.
At least five thousand people!
There were a large number of cavalry, and the infantry carried a lot of equipment, and they were all equipped with sophisticated swords, guns, and weapons. Many of them had their armor wrapped in packages and carried on their backs, and wore helmets with pieces of armor on their heads. Above the military formation, there were no less than a hundred faces of various colors.
The flags were fluttering, and it could be seen that each row and each team had its own flag. On the seaside pier in the rear, there were soldiers who got off the boat and were marching in the direction of their team's flag under urgent orders.
Most of the soldiers who arrived under the soldiers' flags were sitting and talking to each other. Some people tried to stand up, and then staggered and fell, causing others to laugh.
But no one would doubt their identity. The posture of these soldiers holding weapons and the comfortable and relaxed expressions in the army can make everyone confirm that they are battle-hardened and strong soldiers who can fight tough battles!
Just when the group was horrified, the soldiers on guard at the edge of the seawall saw Guo Ning.
He immediately rushed to the front of the military formation and reported to the general in charge.
Then the general issued an order and the drums and trumpets roared.
As soon as the drums sounded, thousands of people stood up.
This time, no one shook, no one whispered, no one moved. Thousands of people looked like one person, and this uniformity itself contained extremely terrifying deterrence. Such an army, no one present had any idea.
Seen it!
Guo Ning turned around, looked at Lu Jun and others, and said with a smile: "Really, your grain and materials have helped me a lot. This second batch of fleet did not transport grain. I have enough money on hand.
There is really no food, only soldiers and horses."