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

"Sir, you have promised me that if there is a war, I can join the army." Mao Yuanyi said very straightforwardly.

He just heard it clearly. The admiral had done everything he promised to the soldiers. Why did he just forget what he promised him?

He felt it necessary to give a reminder, and in order to express his desire to go to the battlefield, he specially found the worn-out armor he wore when he fought in Liaodong many years ago.

"General Mao, His Majesty has ordered General Yang to deal with the Jiannu. I am only going to defend the capital. Don't you still believe in General Yang's ability?"

Seeing Mao Yuanyi's determined look, Zhang Shikang could only use the old trick of reasoning with him. He did not answer Mao Yuanyi directly, but changed the subject and asked a counter-question.

"With General Yang here, the Jiannu will naturally not dare to act recklessly." Mao Yuanyi thought for a while and said.

Today, Yang Sichang is at the peak of his career in the capital. Any child knows about Yang Sichang's glorious deeds in wiping out the bandits. Mao Yuanyi certainly did not dare to doubt the military level of the current commander-in-chief.

"That's right. Since it's impossible for the Jian Nu to surround the capital, this admiral is just going through the motions.

But after all, it is my duty as the admiral, but it is different for General Mao, you have other important tasks to do.

I can go through the motions, but you can't! Hold on tight to that musket!

That's all, come on General Mao!"

As he spoke, Zhang Shikang waved his hand, and 24,000 troops from the Beijing camp filed out of the camp.

Only Mao Yuanyi was left with a frown. Come to think of it, it made sense that the first responsibility of the Beijing Camp was to guard the capital. With Yang Sichang there, the Jian Nu could not possibly reach the capital.

Then the Beijing Army will have no war to fight, and since there is no war to fight, there is no need for the admiral to send himself to the battlefield.

At this time, Mao Yuanyi was still trying to excuse Zhang Shikang in his heart. After all, all the promises Zhang Shikang had made in front of the soldiers had been fulfilled. It was a rare honor to have such a boss.

After figuring it out, Mao Yuanyi rushed to the small workshop in the Beijing camp.

He has been thinking about the instantaneous musket for almost a month. In fact, the core concept had been in his mind for a long time. The current difficulty lies in the selection of flint and the equipment location, but he has already had an idea and perhaps it won't take long to complete this task.

As long as he completes this mission, the admiral will probably not refuse him from returning to the army.

Alas, I look at my sword by lamplight while drunk and dream of blowing the horn in the camp. I am getting closer and closer to this dream.

……

"Admiral Zhang Shikang of the Beijing Camp has been ordered to take over the defense of the capital. Open the city gates immediately!"

Outside Fucheng Gate, Zhang Shikang spoke to the generals on duty on the city wall.

The person in charge of guarding Fuchengmen was still the guy named Li Hai from last time. When he saw that it was Zhang Shikang, he immediately ordered his subordinates to open the city gate, and he also went down to the city to greet him in person in a flattering manner.

"Oh, Admiral Zhang, with you and these brave generals who beat people, the Jian slaves will not dare to come to our capital and act recklessly."

Li Hai walked up to Zhang Shikang and kept complimenting him. Zhang Shikang walked towards the city with his troops, frowning and ignoring Li Hai.

When the soldiers took over the defense of Fuchengmen, Li Hai was still talking.

"You don't know! I just heard the news that the Jiannu invaded the country, that is..."

Zhang Shikang especially hated such flattering soldiers, or rather, these people were not worthy of being called soldiers. He glared at Li Hai coldly, so much so that Li Hai suddenly stopped talking while he was speaking.

"Are you done? Then it's my turn.

General Sun, the army took over the city defense. What crime should the garrison commander be punished for opening the city gate without checking the imperial decree? " Zhang Shikang said to Sun Weifan.

As soon as these words came out, Li Hai was dumbfounded.

"Admiral Zhang, we know each other, right? Didn't you say you were ordered to enter the city?"

"What if the imperial edict is fake?" Zhang Shikang said with a cold face.

"He should be executed for his crime." Sun Weifan stepped forward and replied.

"Then what are you waiting for?"

"Sir, please spare me! Sir, you can't treat me like this, Sir, please spare me..."

Before Li Hai could beg for mercy, Sun Weifan drew his sword and killed him with one strike. His head rolled far away with a look of surprise on his face.

"Damn, Uncle Shi, can't you go to another place?" Zhang Shikang complained in a low voice.

He was splattered with blood, and his brand new armor was made sticky and smelled fishy.

"Hey, then you have to make it clear when you give orders next time. But I'm also annoyed by this guy. He really brings shame to the army." Sun Weifan spat and didn't take it seriously.

Li Hai's original subordinates were all stunned, but fortunately, the Beijing Camp had already taken over Fuchengmen, so they did not dare to act rashly.

"This person did not verify the authenticity of the imperial edict and opened the city gate without authorization. This is a serious crime and must be strictly prohibited. I hope you will take this as a warning.

Also, as a soldier, you should have the ethics of a soldier. If you dare to flatter me again, you will be punished with forty military sticks."

After saying that, Zhang Shikang led his personal guards to the top of the city wall of Fuchengmen.

He first ordered all the original city defense forces in the capital to guard the outer city, and handed over the command of the outer city to the deputy general Wen Bangguo. Except for the cavalry, the rest of the 24,000 troops in the Beijing camp all defended the inner city.

In addition, he ordered the Five Cities Army to gather the civilians in the city to carry rolling logs, thunder stones and other city defense equipment.

The capital city was really too big. Zhang Shikang had not realized it before, but now that he had climbed up the city wall himself, he discovered that more than 20,000 soldiers could not even fill the battlements of the wall.

However, the city defense of the capital was also extremely strong. The base of the city wall was 24 meters wide and 14 meters high. The bottom layer was based on huge stones, the upper part was made of long strips of blue bricks, and the inside was filled with rammed earth walls.

Standing on the city wall of the capital, Zhang Shikang couldn't help but admire the power of the ancients. If such a city defense was to be breached, countless lives would be lost.

An hour later, people from the Bingmasi brought the people from the capital to carry the city defense equipment.

The Bingmasi of Beijing City was equivalent to the police and urban management law enforcement team of later generations. On weekdays, they were responsible for patrolling and catching thieves, clearing streets and drains, prisoners, and banning fires. In wartime, they were responsible for supervising martial law and assisting in defending the city.

The Bingmasi was divided into five parts: Central, East, South, and Northwest. Each office had a commander, who was a sixth-rank official.

The person in charge of the Fuchengmen section at that time was Jiang Chengliang, the commander of the Xicheng Bingmasi. As soon as he arrived at the city wall, he shouted at the people to move their things, and the soldiers of the Bingmasi also beat and scolded the people at will.

Zhang Shikang frowned as he watched.

If it were not for the purpose of ensuring the physical strength of the soldiers to cope with sudden battles, Zhang Shikang did not want to conscript the common people. These common people would definitely not be paid for their work, and at most they would be given a meal.

But he couldn't stand the bureaucratic style of these guys, so he stepped forward and glared at the people from the military department and said:

"If anyone dares to kick them again, I will kick you off the city wall!"

The people from the Bingmasi didn't know who Zhang Shikang was at first, but Jiang Chengliang knew that he couldn't afford to offend this man, so he immediately stopped beating and kicking the people.

Of course, the group of militiamen also heard Zhang Shikang's words of defense, but many of them did not know Zhang Shikang, so they only dared to ask in a low voice while working:

"Guys, who is that general? He looks so young."

"So what if he's young? I think he's a good general who cares about us. Look at that guy named Jiang. He doesn't look like a good person at first glance."

"I recognize that young general."

At this moment, someone in the crowd suddenly whispered. After he finished speaking, everyone else was curious and asked him to continue.

"He is very famous, but he was wearing a helmet and armor. Not only you, but I almost didn't recognize him either."

"Who is this general?"

"The leader of the four great dandies in the capital - the third son of the Duke of Ying, Zhang Shikang. Don't ask me why I remember him so clearly. He used to take my buns all the time."

“Don’t give me the money yet.”

……