Chapter 29 29The First Literary Gathering
"How many of your hundred households can you beat?"
Wu Zhankui asked Wei Meng in a low voice, obviously he was more concerned about this.
Wei Meng was silent for a moment when he heard this, and after thinking about it in his mind, he said: "If we follow the requirements of the soldiers, there are about ten people on my side. In addition, there are probably twenty or thirty people who are strong, flexible, and barely capable of fighting. .
The remaining dozens of people can only pretend to be good, but they can't really fight. They all can only farm. "
"Thirty or forty, that's pretty good."
After hearing Wei Meng's words, Wu Zhankui nodded slightly, as if he was very satisfied with the result.
But if this expression and action fell into Wei Meng's eyes, he could only continue to lower the lower limit of the current guard army.
"I said, uncle, when we are fighting in the north, do you still need to use us? There are a lot of troops in the north."
Wei Meng knew that Jiujiang Wei seemed to be empty-handed, but he still wasn't too worried, as long as he had people under his command.
However, even if there are so many people, if they are really sent to the north, it will not be a sheep in the tiger's mouth. He does not want to go to the north to fight, it will be a fatal job.
"Huguang and Jiangxi may need us to send people to escort them directly to the front lines if they allocate military rations."
Wu Zhankui replied, but he could also see that Wei Meng had a worried look on his face when he heard the news, and comforted him: "It's just a possibility, and the horoscope hasn't been revealed yet.
Besides, even if the frontier army can fight, it will only rely on the city to fight. According to the news I heard, the frontier army is not capable of fighting in the field now, and leaving the city is no more than delivering food.
I estimate that after making these preparations, which are meant to be shown to the emperor, the probability of a fight is very low. "
"That's good, that's good. I won't fight if I can."
When Wei Meng heard the next few words, most of his worries disappeared.
According to normal people's thinking, if the army is not capable of fighting, then it must defend.
Those big guys who want to come to the capital don't want to send out the army and suffer a defeat. When the time comes to investigate, they are afraid that they will not be in a good position.
Up to now, the officers and soldiers of the Ming Dynasty no longer want to fight. They just stay in the local area to make money. They have long lost the spirit of opening up territories and ennobling them immediately.
That is to say, the military households in the northern border towns are willing to fight the Tatars in order to protect themselves and their families, and of course for the bounty. The combat power of the inland garrison has long been in decline.
It is also because the family members know their own affairs and know that the people under them are not good at fighting, so the officials dare not think in that direction.
"I'll invite Liu Qianhu over for a drink tomorrow. You all know each other. Let's take a look."
Hearing Wu Zhankui talk about his eldest son's marriage, Wei Meng immediately became energetic. This was the main thing to do this time.
"I've tested him a few times before, and Lao Liu said your boy is pretty good. I think he's promising."
"That's good, my uncle is here to help."
Wei Meng was naturally happy when he heard this.
These days, to be honest, it’s really hard for ordinary military households to find someone to live with.
Daughters of military households would marry out if they had the chance. Even if they were poor, they would not want to stay in the army.
Therefore, most of the grassroots soldiers are married to each other.
Of course, this is put in a more euphemistic way, but it is actually a change of wife.
The military officers were a little better, Bai Hu, after all, it was a formal military position accepted by the imperial court.
Unless the daughter of the family is really outstanding and beautiful, she may marry someone else of her nationality, but the target is usually a gentry, never a commoner.
"Now that the marriage has been decided, we will go to Fucheng in a few days. I still have something to say with my father-in-law."
Wu Zhankui continued.
"If Master Zhang has any instructions, my uncle can just send the message directly."
When Wei Meng heard that he was going to Jiujiang Mansion, he frowned slightly and felt a little puzzled.
"We also need to prepare every possible way. Our father-in-law has a relationship with the Governor's Mansion in the capital. The news spread there, whether the Northern Expedition succeeds in the end or not, we have to prepare for it as if it is true.
If my father-in-law is transferred from above, I will definitely have to go with him. I don’t have enough manpower on hand, and I still feel uneasy.
You should make a careful calculation in the past two days to see what equipment you need, and then allocate a batch directly to you from the guard warehouse. "
Wei Meng's peace of mind just now was brought up again. Although he was just making preparations, it was still a bit scary to hear it.
But at this time, he definitely couldn't shake his head.
If you really want to order troops and order them down, you will definitely not be able to escape. You can only come down and think about what equipment you want.
During the Ming Dynasty, a lot of military expenditures were spent every year, but most of them were not implemented.
The weapons and equipment produced by the Ordnance Bureau every year cannot meet the needs of the troops at all, and they can only make up the numbers by mass-producing inferior equipment.
Everyone in the officialdom is well aware of these things, but no one lifts the lid.
However, each guard station still has some more or less useful supplies, but they are not allocated and are reserved for equipping trusted troops at critical times.
On the battlefield, only the combat power of one's own men and horses can be guaranteed, which is the key to saving one's life.
In the next room, Wei Guangde, Wu Dong, and Wei Wencai were also chatting about articles and knowledge.
Although Wei Wencai no longer studies, he did read books back then. No one who has read books these days has the idea of "when the spring breeze is so good that the horse's hoof is so bad, you can see all the flowers in Chang'an in one day".
In fact, the real interests here are Wu Dong and Wei Guangde. Wei Wencai made jokes just because he didn't want to sit there by himself.
"By the way, the day after tomorrow, I have a drink with Zeng Yuanshu and Ma Xiang. They are all in the same year as mine and there are a few classmates. You can go together then. My little cousin is going to take the imperial examination. Say no. Soon you will be the same age as those classmates of mine."
Wu Dong was drinking tea and suddenly remembered the arrangements for the next few days, so he spoke.
"It's a gathering of literati, so good."
Wei Guangde was so happy in his heart. He used to know that scholars in ancient times often gathered together, but in the past six months, he had been staying in a remote village and had never participated.
"Not really, just a few local friends, drinking together and listening to music."
Wu Dong said with a smile. He could see that his little cousin seemed to be very interested in these social activities, so he continued: "Why don't you just move here in the future? There are also gentlemen in the county, so I won't delay your studies." Studying will also be convenient for county and government examinations in the future.
The most important thing is that every year before and after the county examination, the surrounding literati gather together, and there will naturally be various gatherings. "
"That's it."
Wei Guangde lowered his head and thought about it, then shook his head and said: "Forget it, I'm not used to being away from home for too long. Anyway, my home is not far from the county seat. It will be the same when I come here for the county examination in the future.
Cousin, please tell me the details of this party, so as not to know anything later and lose your cousin’s face. "
"This gathering was actually hosted by Zeng Yuanshu. He had a distant relative who came back to pay homage to his ancestors. He was from Chengtian, Huguang. He was admitted as a scholar just this year. His name was Zeng Shengwu."