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

Chongqing Prefecture, Shiqu County.

It was the Mid-Autumn Festival, and Qin Liangyu rarely gathered the younger generations of the Qin and Ma families to have a reunion dinner together in her mansion.

Almost all the male descendants of the Qin and Ma families also served in the army, but unlike the aristocratic and warlord-like border troops, these male descendants did not have hereditary titles.

Qin Liangyu was very happy that day and even drank two glasses of wine when her juniors toasted her.

Of course she had reason to be happy. In a few days, the imperial army would arrive here. The Grand Marshal's military order had already been issued. This expedition was intended to wipe out the bandits in one fell swoop so that the Ming Dynasty would no longer have to suffer from the threat of bandits.

Qin Liangyu has been waiting for this day for many years.

She summoned the younger generations of the family on the Mid-Autumn Festival, and naturally took this opportunity to encourage them, hoping that they would not disgrace the family's honor in this war.

The emperor treated them well. Qin Liangyu still keeps the four poems that the emperor wrote to her in his early years.

At that time, the imperial court was in a difficult situation and the White Spear Soldiers were almost exhausted in the successive wars, until later the great marshal sent one million taels of silver.

Since then, money and food were continuously transported to Shiqu, which enabled the White Spear Army to recover to its peak number of 20,000 in just two years, and also to have 20,000 regular troops.

This is all thanks to the great marshal whom I have never met.

Qin Liangyu only knew that the great marshal was the third son of the Duke of Yingzhou, and was very young, but as to his personality, she could only guess from the few letters they exchanged.

Not only Qin Liangyu was curious, Ma Xianglin and Qin Yiming were also curious, and Ma Lingqi, who just turned 18 this year, was even more curious.

After the dinner, a group of younger generations went back to their camps. Qin Liangyu returned to the house on crutches. Ma Xianglin and Qin Yiming knew that she must have something to tell them, so they followed her.

Ma Lingqi rolled her eyes a few times and followed stealthily.

She first served tea to her grandmother, and then moved a small stool, squatted in front of Qin Liangyu and massaged her grandmother's legs in exchange for the right to listen to military affairs.

Of course, both Qin Liangyu and Ma Xianglin treated this girl as nothing.

"Lin'er, have the arrangements for Jiannansi, Qianjiang, Shimenguan and other places been completed?" Qin Liangyu said.

As the only barrier of the imperial court in Sichuan and Shu, Qin Liangyu now controls only three small cities and a pass.

From north to south they are Jiannansi, Shiqian, Qianjiang and Shimenguan, and Shimenguan is exactly the marching route chosen by the Grand Marshal for this expedition.

Further south of Shimen Pass are Youyang Xuanfusi and Baojingzhou Xuanweisi. These local officials all surrendered to the so-called Dashi pseudo-regime under the pressure of Zhang Xianzhong.

When the Grand Marshal came to Sichuan, she, as the governor-general of four provinces, naturally had to arrange everything for the Grand Marshal to prevent possible attacks by bandits.

"Mother, six thousand elite soldiers have already been deployed. The local officials around here definitely won't dare to attack. I plan to go there myself to deploy defenses the day after tomorrow." Ma Xianglin said.

"Send Yiming over as well to take a look. Six thousand are still too few. Send another two thousand men. Remember to march at night and don't let Zhang Xianzhong know." Qin Liangyu said after thinking for a while.

The entire defense line has been in a state of loose outside and tight inside for some time. On the one hand, Qin Liangyu did not want to overly stimulate the bandits before the arrival of the imperial army. On the other hand, she did not want Zhang Xianzhong to find out the route of the Grand Marshal into Sichuan.

However, she did not dare to be careless about the safety of the Grand Marshal. Although the Grand Marshal had not arrived yet, Qin Liangyu had received letters from many people in recent times.

Fourteen days ago, Shaanxi Governor-General Sun Chuanting wrote to her, reminding her to protect the safety of the Grand Marshal. As long as the Grand Marshal is there, everything of the Ming Dynasty is there.

Sixteen days ago, Lu Xiangsheng, the commander-in-chief of the Tiger Guards, wrote to her in a personal letter, telling her that eradicating the bandits was a small matter, while the safety of the commander-in-chief was a big matter.

In addition to these two colleagues from the Tiger Guards, there were also letters to her from several other generals of the border troops and even the garrison generals of the Guards, all of which conveyed roughly the same message.

But half a month ago, a letter suddenly came from the palace. It was a secret letter, and the person who delivered the letter was a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Before opening the secret letter, Qin Liangyu had already confirmed the identity of the person who wrote it.

She still remembered the emperor's handwriting. The letter was very short. Apart from the first part praising her contribution, the rest was all about Marshal Zhang Shikang.

There were dozens of words in total, but they all meant only one thing: no matter how the war went, she was asked to ensure Zhang Shikang's safety, and her concern was expressed both explicitly and implicitly.

Qin Liangyu had previously only known that the Grand Marshal was so talented and naturally had the emperor's trust, but she had never expected that this trust had reached such an extent.

From the Tiger Guards to the Imperial Guards, from the Imperial Guards to the Emperor, no one was unconcerned about the safety of the young marshal, and there was a layer of meaning revealed between the lines.

They were all very confident of their own contributions, but if something happened to the Grand Marshal in her base, that would be a crime, the kind that none of them would forgive.

Qin Liangyu, Qin Yiming and Ma Xianglin, who had been stationed in the mountain city, realized that the Grand Marshal had become the hope of the Ming Dynasty and was like a great treasure.

Too many people placed their hopes on this young man.

So they all became more curious.

"Don't worry, aunt. I will definitely not let you down." Qin Yiming took the order very solemnly.

Ma Lingqi on the side tilted her head and seemed very confused. Finally, she couldn't help but speak:

"Grandmother, Lingqi heard that the Grand Marshal is a master of martial arts and is leading so many troops. Is it necessary to be so cautious?"

She was indeed a little puzzled. Not to mention the great marshal with unrivaled martial arts skills, even she, with only a silver spear, could not get close to five or six burly men with weapons.

Upon hearing this, Ma Xianglin immediately reprimanded:

"What do you know? People make mistakes, horses stumble, and our great marshal is the hope of the whole world. How can he take risks?"

In the long run, the situation of the court is getting better and better. In the short run, the reconstruction of the White Spear Corps is all thanks to this great marshal.

Ma Xianglin had thought it through. This time, during the expedition against the Jianlu, he must convince the Grand Marshal to let him stay in the rear to supervise the battle. As for the front line, they would just have to fight hard.

After all, no matter how well they fought, if the Grand Marshal was gone, let alone whether the emperor would spare them or not, even the spit of the Guards and the Tiger Guards would be enough to drown them.

"I heard that he is only three years older than Lingqi. Aunt, why is he so powerful?" Ma Lingqi frowned and shook her head at Qin Liangyu.

Most of her hair had been burned off in the last fire, and even though a long time had passed, it was still only shoulder-length.

This length does not conform to the conventional hairstyle of women today, so Ma Lingqi simply tied it loosely behind her head with a hairband, and let the rest hang naturally.

It looks weird, like an ancient non-mainstream thing.

"Some people are born geniuses." Qin Liangyu put her hand on Ma Lingqi's head and said with a smile.

……