Ningxia Pinglu Station is a guard station under the Ningxia Guard. It is located at the northernmost end of the Ningxia Guard, close to the North Great Wall. There are Tatars in the east, north and west directions, like a tower deep into the hinterland of the Tatars.
wedge..
Due to the very important strategic location, as early as the early Ming Dynasty, the imperial court set up a sub-defense general as military supervisor to command the border troops along the Great Wall. Nowadays, the sub-defense general of Pinglu Station is named Xiao Ruxun
, was a northern man who was born into a military family and was outstanding in both literary and martial arts.
Chen Dao and Su Hao brought the general order from Zhang Jizhong, the commander-in-chief of Ningxia, to Pinglu City to see Xiao Ruxun. Xiao Ruxun looked at the general order, then raised his eyes to look at the unusually young Su Hao, and said lightly: "That's right.
I have been dispatched by the Ministry of War and have received orders from the General, so you can stay here. However, my city of Pinglu is very poor and there are no good places to live in the city, so I can only ask you to make do with it. Besides, this is a frontier fortress.
In a barbaric land, many soldiers do not understand etiquette, so please control your subordinates and avoid causing trouble."
"Thank you, General Xiao Shen, for staying with me. I won't cause any trouble to General Xiao Shen." Su Hao didn't know why the other party was being cold to him, so he could only say some polite words.
Xiao Ruxun sneered and said: "Su Guerrilla misunderstood. I'm not worried that Su Guerrilla's subordinates will cause any trouble to me. I'm just afraid that my ineffective frontier troops will cause some trouble to Su Guerrilla's subordinates.
I would like to ask Su Guerrilla to bear with me."
Xiao Ruxun's words were obviously showing off to the frontier troops. The frontier troops of the Ming Dynasty had two characteristics. First, they had harsh conditions and a poor living environment. They also fought every day and had their heads in their belts.
Second, because they often face invasions from northern ethnic groups, their combat quality is generally higher than that of inland troops. On the one hand, they have strong capabilities, and on the other hand, they suffer from poor treatment, which creates a temperament of arrogance and resentment in the frontier troops.
Xiao Ruxun said that he was not worried about the trouble the Kanyu Camp would bring to the border army. Instead, he reminded the border army that it would bring trouble to the Kanyu Camp. This meant that the combat effectiveness of the Kanyu Camp was not as good as that of the border army. If something trivial happened,
In the event of a conflict, the soldiers of Kanyu Camp will definitely suffer the consequences.
Although Su Hao didn't know much about these things in the army, he could still hear some threats and contempt from Xiao Ruxun's attitude. Su Hao was fully confident in the strength of Kanyu Camp, so
He replied calmly: "You can't make a deal without fighting. My battalion is all Taiping soldiers and they haven't seen much of the world. I would like to ask my brothers from the border army to teach me a lesson. It might help me gain some experience."
"Oh?" Xiao Ruxun didn't expect that Su Hao would dare to answer his words, and seemed to be willing to compete. He couldn't help but be more interested in Su Hao. He raised his eyes and looked at Su Hao, with something on his face.
Warmly, he said: "Su Guerba can command a battalion of troops at such a young age. He must be a man of extraordinary talent. When he has time, Xiao will ask Su Guerrilla for advice. Regarding the stationing matter, I will lead the camp with the chief secretary.
You go and make arrangements. If anything goes wrong, Chief Chen and Su Guoji can come to me at any time."
After that, he called Liang Feng, the chief secretary of the camp, and asked him to take Chen Dao and Su Hao to the city to find a place for the army to be stationed. Chen Dao laughed, thanked Xiao Ruxun, and together with Su Hao,
As Liang Feng left the General's Mansion.
Pinglu City is not large in area and is a city built specifically for garrisoning troops. In addition to soldiers, the city is mainly occupied by military households and family members of officers, as well as a few outside merchants. In the past, it was also necessary to receive guests who came to fight.
army, so there were many idle military camps in the city. Liang Feng took Xiao Ruxun's hint and found a relatively neat place for Kanyu Camp and settled more than 2,000 people.
The salaries of Kanyu Camp were paid directly by the Ministry of War, and Xiao Ruxun did not need to take care of their supplies. After settling in, the logistics personnel of each ministry went to the city to purchase grain, non-staple food and other daily necessities, while the remaining officers and soldiers were busy
They were cleaning, repairing doors, windows, furniture, etc., and all the work was in order. Liang Feng watched coldly from the side, nodding secretly in his heart, and had some understanding of the quality of the survey camp.
After seeing off Liang Feng, Su Hao smiled and asked Chen Dao: "Mr. Chen, why do I feel that this Xiao Shen is not very welcoming to us? Did we come to Pinglu City in the wrong place?"
Chen Dao waved his hand and said: "There are two types of generals in the border army. One type is flattery to their superiors. The purpose of these people is nothing more than to hope that the people above them will be promoted to their official positions, or that they will not be held accountable for corruption.
They are violating the law and deducting military pay. The other type is people like Xiao Ruxun, who are arrogant because of their talents. They feel that they are both civil and military, but their pearls are covered in dust, so they are disliked by everyone, especially the civil servants of the imperial court like me."
"I'm afraid there are still young and arrogant villains like me who are trying to destroy evil spirits, right?" Su Hao added with a smile.
Chen Dao nodded: "It's very good to have this self-awareness in changing it. It's very good."
After saying that, the two of them laughed together. It was indeed shocking that Su Hao became a guerrilla general at the age of less than 20 years old, but he earned his position by relying on his own talent, so he was not afraid of others' cold looks.
Xiao Ruxun was cold and even contemptuous towards him. He did not feel annoyed, but found Xiao Ruxun ridiculous. Chen Dao knew Su Hao's experience and talent very well, so he naturally understood Su Hao's thoughts.
As for Xiao Ruxun, he sent away Chen Dao, Su Hao and his entourage. Seeing that there was no other official business, he changed out of his official uniform and returned to the back house. His wife Yang Shulan served him hot tea and asked with a smile: "Mr.
Smiling, but did you encounter anything interesting?"
Yang Shulan came from a well-known family. His father, Yang Zhao, served as governor of Jiliao in the early years of Wanli and later became minister of the Ministry of War in Nanjing. Xiao Ruxun originally served under Yang Zhao. Yang Zhao took a fancy to his talent and military background, so he
He betrothed his daughter to him. Although Yang Shulan was a woman, she was as talented as a man. Many of Xiao Ruxun's government affairs would be told to Yang Shulan and became a topic for the couple to chat on weekdays.
Hearing his wife's words, Xiao Ruxun smiled and said: "I did encounter an interesting thing just now. The Ministry of War sent a chief to accompany a guerrilla general who looked to be less than 20 years old, with a battalion of soldiers and horses.
I came to Pinglu City and said I would stay for a while. I thought that maybe he was the nephew of some powerful official's family and wanted to come to the border to gain some qualifications."
"Hasn't my husband met this kind of person many times in the past? Isn't it that my husband has hit a snag again?" Yang Shulan asked. She was a little surprised that Xiao Ruxun had encountered such a thing in the past.
I would be very annoyed when I returned to the back house, but this time I was smiling. There must be something unusual.
Xiao Ruxun said: "I did give him a nail, telling him not to be arrogant and be careful to offend my border troops. What do you think he did?"
"When a nephew from a powerful family like this hears such words, he will be so frightened that he runs back all night, right?" Yang Shulan said with a smile. She herself comes from a powerful family, and she is quite aware of the virtues of the dandies around her.
understand.
Xiao Ruxun said: "This is what makes me interesting. After hearing my words, he not only was not angry or afraid, but also said that we don't know each other if we don't fight. I hope my border troops can help him teach his men a lesson."
"Did he not understand what my husband meant?" Yang Shulan asked.
Xiao Ruxun said: "No, this person looks quite smart. When he answered my words, his attitude was neither humble nor overbearing, which made me feel a little surprised."
"Oh, what is this person's name? Whose nephew is he?" Yang Shulan asked.
Xiao Ruxun said: "This man's name is Su Hao. I can't think of any powerful official named Su who has such an old nephew."
"Su Hao?" Yang Shulan frowned, "Why do I seem to have heard of this name?"
"When you said that, I also think this name is somewhat familiar." Xiao Ruxun also remembered it, as if he had heard this name somewhere before.
Su Hao can be regarded as a rising star in the military and political circles in the past two years. Although his origin and position are not very prominent, his design of telescopes, invention of contour maps, and his achievements in Zunyi, Huai'an and other places,
Both are quite legendary, and are somewhat famous among officials and scholars. However, Xiao Ruxun and Yang Shulan are located in border areas and lack information, so they were a little surprised when they first heard the name Su Hao.
"Husband, what are the characteristics of the soldiers and horses this man brings?" Yang Shulan asked.
Xiao Ruxun said: "It's a little different. I heard from him that his army is called Kanyu Camp. It was ordered by the Ministry of War to go to the border pass to survey and map the map. You said that the map of the border pass has always been surveyed and mapped by the border troops themselves.
, reported to the Ministry of War, how can there be..."
Speaking of this, Xiao Ruxun suddenly patted the table lightly and said, "I remembered that this person seemed to have presented some kind of map to the Ministry of War, which was highly appreciated by Wang Shangshu."
"By the way, when my husband said this, I also remembered that the last time my father sent someone to deliver something to me and my wife, the officer mentioned this matter. It seems that my father also has a lot of respect for the person who presented the picture.
Interested, this person seems to be named Su Hao."
"A map?" Xiao Ruxun patted his head, "Isn't it just a map? Even if it is drawn more carefully, so what? Wang Shangshu and his father-in-law both praised this man greatly. Could it be that the maps he drew are different from those before?
What is the difference?"
Yang Shulan said: "In this way, this man is really not the nephew of a powerful official, but a guerrilla general relying on his own ability. If he looks less than 20 years old, then he may have a bright future. Husband, don't go too far.
Treat him with contempt."
Xiao Ruxun said: "I didn't expect this. I just saw that he was a bit brave, so I told Liang Feng to find a better camp for them. It's not a slight on him. As for whether I want to fight with him
Anyway, he will live in Pinglu City for a few more days, and I will wait until I observe him. Didn’t he himself say that we can’t get to know each other without fighting? Maybe we really have to fight each other to get to know each other.” (To be continued.)