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

The white silver, like a bright light in the dark night, attracted the attention of all the soldiers, and many soldiers' faces turned red all of a sudden.

It’s like someone who has never watched a porn movie suddenly seeing a 4K high-definition screen playing import and export trade.

Excited, greedy, and eager, if Sun Weifan hadn't been watching them like an iron tower, they would have dared to rush forward.

"Here is 500,000 taels of silver. Today, this admiral will pay off all your arrears in one lump sum."

Zhang Shikang knew that these people had long been accustomed to being oppressed, and that no matter how much you talked, it would not be as good as doing something practical, so he did not talk nonsense and only talked about the important things.

As soon as the loud voices responsible for passing on the message shouted, thunderous cheers broke out on the parade ground.

It was the first time that Zhang Shikang heard the shouts of tens of thousands of people. The scene could be described as overwhelming. He stretched out his hands and shouted for a long time before the soldiers below finally quieted down.

"In addition, starting today, you will have three meals a day, and every meal will include rice and steamed buns. This is my promise to you."

Zhang Shikang had discussed the issue of grain and fodder with the Ministry of Revenue three days ago, and the Ministry of Revenue promised to give priority to supplying 100,000 shi of grain and fodder to the Beijing Camp by tomorrow at the latest.

For ordinary soldiers, the two things they care about most are military pay and food. The former is related to the food and clothing of their families, while the latter is their own food and clothing.

Survival always comes first.

The conditions at that time were not as good as those in later generations. Ordinary people only had two meals a day, with the first meal basically in the morning and the second meal in the evening.

Only wealthy families like Zhang Shikang could have three meals a day.

The military camp was no exception. During wartime, there were three meals a day, and during peacetime, except for training, there were only two meals a day. This was when the Ming Dynasty was in good shape.

The Ming treasury was empty and there was no money. In addition, the nobles and relatives used various means to deduct money. The so-called two meals a day were not as much as what Zhang Shikang ate in one meal on weekdays.

Now Zhang Shikang promised them that they would have three meals a day, and every meal would include rice and steamed buns, just like telling a strange beggar that you would let him eat Beijing roast duck every day.

It’s not that they don’t believe it, but they dare not believe it. How can there be such a good person in this world?

But Zhang Shikang had already expected it.

"I have ordered the firemen to start cooking. You will know whether it is true or not in a moment. I have said that I am different from them."

Zhang Shikang had already ordered people to check the current food and grass situation. At this rate of consumption, it could only last for about five days at most. Fortunately, the food and grass from the Ministry of Revenue would be delivered soon.

Seeing Zhang Shikang say this, the soldiers present could no longer disbelieve him. A brave cat shouted in the crowd:

"Why is this happening, Admiral? Is a big war about to start?"

Zhang Shikang laughed when he heard this.

"Can you still fight in this state?"

They are all as thin as sticks, but with his physique, he is confident that he can beat two of them at once.

He roughly understood what the soldier was thinking. Generally speaking, before a war, generals would increase food supplies in order to boost morale.

Zhang Shikang's words just now were clearly a mockery, but the soldiers below were very unconvinced.

"As long as we can have enough food and military pay, why can't we fight? Admiral, please don't look down on us."

Perhaps because Zhang Shikang was so young, or perhaps because they felt that what Zhang Shikang said was true, someone answered.

"That's right. Don't look at us thin. We are still strong after a full meal. It's just that this weapon is too old. I am always afraid that it will break when I use all my strength."

As soon as these words were spoken, they immediately attracted laughter from the surrounding soldiers.

Zhang Shikang originally thought that these numb people had already lost all their fighting spirit, but now he realized that this was not the case.

They have just been forgotten and ignored for too long. They are also living people with flesh and blood.

Thinking of this, Zhang Shikang replied:

“It doesn’t matter whether there is a war or not, you should have enough food to eat.

There are definitely requirements. From today on, you must undergo drills every day, without stopping for a single day."

The common people may not have enough to eat, but if the soldiers also do not have enough to eat, that would be a sign of the country’s demise.

Zhang Shikang believed that this was common sense, and he had only the most basic understanding of training and leading troops.

Let the soldiers have enough food, pay them military salaries, enforce orders, and clearly distinguish between rewards and punishments.

But he did not expect that his words would have such a great impact on the soldiers below. Compared with the thunderous applause just now, the noise below was like giant flies. They were all whispering to each other, discussing what Zhang Shikang had just said.

This military discipline... is simply amazing.

Zhang Shikang felt that enforcing strict military discipline would take time, so since the army had not yet begun to be reorganized, he could just observe the current situation of the grassroots soldiers.

The noise lasted for a full half a quarter of an hour before Sun Weifan couldn't stand it anymore. He waved his hands and the crowd slowly calmed down.

A thin man wearing a whistle uniform stood up and said:

"If the Admiral can let us have enough food every day, let alone daily training, our lives will belong to the Admiral, and we will fight whoever he tells us to fight."

The sentry commander was a low-ranking officer in the Beijing camp. The military system of the Beijing camp was different from that of the garrison. The lowest rank was the sergeant, who had ten people under him, similar to the squad leader in the army of later generations.

The sergeant above the squad leader is called a sentry chief, who has one hundred soldiers under his command, equivalent to the company commander in later generations. Six sentries make a battalion chief, and above the battalion chief is a thousand-man chief, also called a garrison commander, with one thousand two hundred soldiers under his command.

Above the Qianzong are the guerrilla general, the lieutenant general, and the deputy general, and above those are the general and deputy general who lead a military town.

I think what the sentry said was the result of their discussion and represented the opinions of the lowest-level soldiers.

"Okay, I'll take this as a promise from all of you," Zhang Shikang replied.

Although this place is shabby and the soldiers below seem to be malnourished, these people still have their backbone.

This is Zhang Shikang's only consolation.

At this time, the deputy generals and lieutenant generals who had taken leave or were out finally came back. They stood together with Qian Rulong and others, whispering, as if asking each other about the current situation.

Zhang Shikang had already asked people to investigate and found out that the deputy general who went out was going to a brothel to visit prostitutes, and those lieutenant generals were not visiting relatives, but were accomplices of the deputy general.

Seeing that several people were looking at him with a defensive attitude, Zhang Shikang frowned immediately. He knew that these people would never agree with him, and immediately pointed at Qian Rulong and the others and said to the soldiers present:

"It's their fault that you don't have enough to eat and enough clothes to wear. When I first arrived, they were eating meat, drinking wine, gambling, and visiting prostitutes!

Now I need ten men to enforce military law, preferably ten strong men." Zhang Shikang said to all the soldiers.

He did not trust the original supervising officers in the Beijing camp enough, so he simply chose one from the lower-level soldiers.

Qian Rucheng and others' faces suddenly changed. Although a new official is supposed to start with three things, the first one to start with was against them, and they were beaten with military sticks, which really made them frown.

You have to know that the deputy general has at least 10,000 subordinates, and his rank is the same as the ministers of the six ministries, which is the second rank. Being beaten with a military stick in public is tantamount to humiliation.

"Even if the Admiral wants to establish his authority, he has chosen the wrong person, right?" Qian Rulong's face was gloomy.

As soon as he finished speaking, more than a hundred soldiers rushed out from the parade ground. The clothes on these people were not worn out, and the weapons in their hands were not old either. They had ferocious faces and stood below, glaring at Zhang Shikang.

……