Late Ming Dynasty: Oops, I am surrounded by the Donglin Party

What came into view was a scene of desolation, a dilapidated gate, dilapidated wooden walls, and dilapidated tents.

In short, everything as far as the eye could see was in tatters, including the clothes on several soldiers which were in pieces.

"Where are the people? Where have all the soldiers gone?" Zhang Shikang angrily questioned the general guarding the gate.

The general was only a small sentry commander. He was surprised to see such a young admiral coming. He could only speak truthfully:

"My Lord, they are all resting in the military tent!"

"Why don't you go to training? Tell the truth, otherwise you will be subject to military law!" Zhang Shikang frowned.

The sentry glanced at Zhang Shikang quietly, then looked at Sun Weifan, who was like an iron tower behind Zhang Shikang, and swallowed his saliva.

"My Lord Admiral is asking you a question. Why are you looking at me?"

Zhang Shikang was still dressed like an ordinary young man. In comparison, Sun Weifan, dressed in armor, looked more like a commander and was more trustworthy.

"This...this...Deputy General Qian said that the army's rations are scarce, and taking a rest can save them."

"What a joke!" Zhang Shikang was stunned.

The soldiers actually lay down en masse to save food rations and didn't even conduct drills. What kind of soldiers are they?

"Sir, would you like me to call a few lieutenant generals to come for questioning?" Seeing that Zhang Shikang had a bad look on his face, the sentry chief asked hesitantly.

"Lead the way, I will go find them myself."

"How can I trouble you, sir? I'd better go and call them over." The chief sentry rolled his eyes.

Zhang Shikang could see that there was something fishy going on here, and Sun Weifan drew out his sword with a clang.

"Are you teaching the admiral what to do? Just lead the way when I tell you to. If you keep talking nonsense, I will chop you off." Sun Weifan put his sword on the patrol chief's neck, his eyes as big as copper bells.

The sentry was almost frightened to death and quickly led the way.

At the other end of the military camp, there is a row of relatively better blue brick buildings, which I guess are the residences of the generals of the Beijing camp.

Before Zhang Shikang got close, he heard a noise coming from inside.

"Big! Big! Big! Open—"

"Tsk, old money, you lost, take the silver, take the silver"

"No way, Lao Wang, you are cheating!"

"If you lose, you lose. Old Qian, you can't afford to lose, right? How can you slander someone's innocence out of thin air?"

With a duang sound, the door of the house was kicked open by Sun Weifan.

But the house was in a mess, with wine jars scattered all over the floor, and unfinished side dishes scattered on the table, including chicken, duck and fish. At another table, four or five dishevelled guys were gambling.

Seeing the door being kicked open, several men became furious and prepared to stand up and attack, but stopped when they saw the burly Sun Weifan.

"This is the newly appointed commander-in-chief of the Beijing camp, Lord Zhang. You guys report for your military positions!" Sun Weifan pointed a knife at the men.

Several people glanced at Zhang Shikang, and then at the sentry chief who followed them. The sentry chief nodded rapidly, and several people said a little dejectedly:

"I am Qian Rulong, the deputy general of the army."

"I am Cheng Dazhong, the lieutenant general in the army."

……

Three deputy generals, four lieutenant generals, almost all the senior generals of the Beijing camp were gathered together, but they gathered together to drink and gamble.

"What about the rest?"

"In reply to the admiral, Lieutenant General Chen has gone out, and the other lieutenant generals have all asked for leave." The situation was stronger than the people, and several people wilted under the intimidation of Sun Weifan.

"You, immediately send someone to notify them to return to the camp. If you fail to do so within half an hour, you will be dismissed on the spot!" Zhang Shikang pointed at the sentry commander and gave the order.

Upon hearing this, Qian Rulong and others looked at each other and became silent.

However, they just thought that it was one of the first three things a new official did upon taking office, and it was nothing more than a warning to them. After all, the deputy generals were not ordinary generals, and even the governor of the Beijing camp did not have the power to dismiss them at will.

"General Sun, what is the punishment for drinking and gambling in the army?" Zhang Shikang asked Sun Weifan.

Sun Weifan had been unemployed at home for twenty years. Apart from practicing martial arts, he was familiar with military affairs and naturally knew common punishments.

"If they are on the march, they shall be beheaded; if they are stationed in camp, the first offender shall be punished with forty military sticks, and if they commit the same offense again, they shall be beheaded."

Sun Weifan knew that Zhang Shikang was trying to establish his authority, so he cooperated very well.

"Beat the drums and call all soldiers to assemble on the training ground." Zhang Shikang gave the order with a frown.

After a while, drum beats were heard in the parade ground, and the soldiers, who were unaware of what was going on, began to rush towards the parade ground in twos and threes.

Their faces were sallow, their eyes were numb, and they were wearing tattered clothes. Some wore winter clothes with the cotton wool showing through, and some wore patched thin shirts. They looked like refugees fleeing from a disaster.

Most of them were thin, and the weapons in their hands were also varied. Some held spears, long swords, some held halberds, machetes, and some even held bird guns.

However, most of these weapons were outdated. The spears were of different lengths, and the long swords were full of dents, making it difficult to chop firewood. What was even more outrageous was that Zhang Shikang saw someone holding a bird gun that didn't even have a butt.

Zhang Shikang knew that the Beijing army was corrupt, but he did not expect it to be so rotten.

"There is no need to be surprised, Admiral. This is how the Beijing camp is. There is a shortage of food and pay. Compared to this, the actual number of soldiers on duty is the most important." Sun Weifan comforted.

In order to prevent someone in the camp from doing bad things, Zhang Shikang had just ordered Sun Dasheng and others to take over the warehouse. In any case, Emperor Chongzhen's strict order still worked, and the warehouse did not catch fire after all.

"Uncle, you don't need to comfort me. The national situation is difficult and time is pressing. We must restore the combat effectiveness of this unit in the shortest possible time. This still requires your full assistance."

Zhang Shikang was unusually serious and bowed to Sun Weifan as a junior, but Sun Weifan quickly stopped him.

"Sir Admiral, this is a military matter. You can no longer address me like that. Otherwise, the soldiers will look down on you."

Sun Weifan was always serious about military affairs, especially about hierarchy. In Sun Weifan's view, Zhang Shikang was young and could not win the support of the people, so he should try his best to show the demeanor of a superior.

"As for the matter of training troops, there is no need for you to tell me, Your Majesty. This is my duty, and I have signed a military order to Your Majesty.

only……"

"General Sun, please feel free to speak up." Zhang Shikang rarely saw Sun Weifan in trouble, so he asked curiously.

Although he did not agree with Sun Weifan's ideas, he changed his title after being advised. Sun Weifan's military position was deputy admiral, and his full name was assistant to the military affairs of the Beijing camp.

But calling him Vice Admiral Sun sounds weird, and calling him Assistant Manager Sun sounds unpleasant. Calling him General is quite smooth.

At that time, calling a soldier a general was just a general title, just like calling a man handsome in later generations.

"I have no problem reorganizing the barracks and training the soldiers. The most difficult things are actually other things." After thinking about it, Sun Weifan truthfully expressed his concerns.

For example, matters such as food, military equipment, military uniforms, etc. require dealings with the Ministry of Revenue or even the Ministry of War. Now each camp is short of money, food and military equipment, and the Ming treasury is in that state.

It's too hasty and may offend people, but if there is no supply of food, fodder and weapons, how can we train soldiers, let alone strengthen the army?

This is just the first trouble. When a military general goes to war, the thing he fears most is that he fights hard on the battlefield but has civil officials in the rear hindering him. Having his military exploits concealed is the secondary problem. Many times, if he offends that group of civil officials, he will not even know how he died.

"General Sun, leave all of this to me. General Sun, just focus on training the troops. I'm not sure if anyone dares to make trouble for me."

Zhang Shikang had the confidence to say this, not only because his father was the governor of the Governor's Office, but also because he knew the emperor in the palace who was eagerly looking forward to the revival of the Ming Dynasty.

The soldiers had lax discipline. After half an hour, people were still gathering from all directions. Zhang Shikang frowned and decided not to wait any longer.

At this time, the parade ground was already filled with people. The parade ground of the Xishan Camp was built according to the standard of 100,000 people. Although there were many people on the parade ground now, they only occupied a small area.

Sun Weifan found a dozen soldiers with loud voices in the army to act as loudspeakers for Zhang Shikang's speeches.

Zhang Shikang stood on the reviewing stand and the soldiers looked at him numbly. They didn't know who was standing on the reviewing stand and they didn't even care. They just knew that he was a high-ranking official.

"Soldiers, I am the commander-in-chief of the Beijing Camp appointed by His Majesty, and I am here to enforce discipline in the Beijing Camp.

I know what you are thinking. You may be thinking that no matter who comes, your military pay will still be withheld and deducted, and no matter who comes, you will still not have enough to eat or wear warm clothes.

But I am different from those people.”

Zhang Shikang had a solemn expression and spoke slowly and forcefully. He didn't say much. After he finished speaking, he made a gesture and several sons of noble families brought over the carriages they had brought with them and opened the boxes on the carriages one by one.

But every box was filled with silver ingots, which shone with a strange light under the sunlight.