Chapter 28 Deputy Constable

  At this time, the city was filled with a large army, and the small Ji Ming Yi was already full of soldiers. The Ming army had two types of troops: the military dependent Wei Suo and the soldier-dependent camp. The border army was a soldier-dependent camp. He Canjiang had five Dusi officers under his command, each commanding 1,120 people. At this time, the total number of soldiers in the city reached 5,600, surpassing the Tartar army in both manpower and morale.

  Just now, if we could have taken advantage of the Mongolian army's panic and unpreparedness to launch a surprise attack on their central forces with our elite troops, disrupt their formation, and then attacked them from both sides with our main force, we would have at least been able to inflict heavy casualties on them. Unfortunately, we missed this opportunity, which is truly regrettable.

  Wang Zhubu lived near the county government office. He had originally planned to help County Magistrate Min and other local gentry organize the people's escape, but then he saw a large army rushing in from the north city gate. His original plan was naturally no longer necessary, so he first sent Magistrate Min back to the county government office. As he was hurrying back and forth, he ran into Yang Ling and Wang Banhou.

  Yang Ling and Wang Bantou rushed over on horseback, Yang Ling didn't know how to ride a horse, in order to save time, he also gritted his teeth and got on the warhorse, although the horse was not galloping, it still bounced him so much that his two legs were sore, his waist almost broke.

  As soon as he saw Wang Zhubu, Yang Ling hastily informed him of his temporary departure to act as the deputy postmaster, and after humbly seeking his advice, he grasped the key points and immediately rushed to the postmaster's office.

  The Yishu government office is a brick and wood structure with five courtyards, the building complex is very large, the outermost courtyard is the post house, the second courtyard is the post warehouse, the post school and the beam house are in the inner courtyard, and the Yishu official's office and residence are located in the last courtyard.

  After receiving the military order from Wang Bantou, the Yixing government temporarily assigned Yang Ling to take charge of the Huyangzi post house. The Jiming post house was too small and did not have a dedicated treasury official, so the post house clerk acted as the treasurer. Under the post house clerk were six minor officials, four of whom were in charge of post house affairs and two of whom managed the warehouse.

  Just now on the city wall, the defenders suffered heavy casualties. Of the six minor officials who came to assist in the defense, only four are still alive, and one of them is seriously injured. Yang Ling can only summon three people to his presence, all of whom have smoke-blackened faces and haven't even had time to wash yet. Although they don't look as majestic as Yang Ling, who looks like a king, they're still quite a sight.

  Yang Ling ordered them to clean up several of the best houses for the three adults to stay in, and also asked them to clear out the warehouse, load grain and equipment separately, and check the received grain on the spot without error, register and record, and organize the postmen to distribute each camp.

  Everything was arranged, and after a glance around, he thought that this was where Ma Xiang had usually worked. He couldn't help but feel a deep sense of emotion. To think about it, the two of them really did have a good affinity. He had arrived at Chicken Cry Post just one day before himself, and it was because of his family's lawsuit that he had gotten to know County Magistrate, and found a job to make a living.

  However, Ma Kui had been in office for just over a month when he met his demise here. Yet, someone like himself who was always prepared to die at any moment was still alive. The ways of the world were indeed unpredictable. Yang Ling thought to himself: Shouldn't I go take a look at Ma Kui's siblings? They should have received news of their brother's death by now. He ought to go pay his respects.

  But now the army's logistics camp is constantly arriving, contacting officials, receiving grain and grass into storage, calculating the supply needs of various troops, arranging military supplies for each camp, he and several small officials are busy to the point of no time to mourn.

  To say that Ma Ji Cheng had just died, he took his place and became the post house chief. If a group of postmen and small officials came to ask for instructions in front of Ma's brother and sister, they would be even more heartbroken, so after thinking about it, they could only give up.

  Those grain supplies are really troublesome, Yang Ling can't understand why the military rations for over ten days should be a problem when stored in the camp. With such frequent mobilization, it's exhausting and costly to transport them back and forth, even if it's just to keep control of the army's supply lines in the hands of civil officials, this is still too much.

  He was busy like a spinning top, riding his horse to transport grain and fodder to each city gate for delivery. When he passed by his home, he hastily jumped off the horse to go back and change into another robe, as the one on him was really muddy and dirty.

  When he got off the horse, Yang Ling only felt that his legs were light and fluffy, as if he had just gotten off a boat. Because he didn't know how to ride a horse, the inside of his thighs were all bruised and scratched, and it hurt when he walked. He was afraid that Nian Niang would see him and feel distressed, so as soon as he entered the door, he slowed down his pace and tried to look natural.

  As soon as he entered the door, he saw Han Youniang wearing a blue flowered apron, sitting in front of the stove wrapping dumplings. Seeing her husband return, she was like a happy magpie, excitedly welcoming him with a bright red face full of joy.

  There was a kind of vegetable flavor in the air, Yang Ling sniffed, hmm, that's the feeling of home, warm and cozy. Seeing Han Youniang with some flour on her cheek, his eyes quietly jumped up with a touch of tenderness and intimacy, he now liked to see her look like a child, yet also like a gentle little woman more and more.

  He glanced at the pot lid and saw that there were four rows of neatly arranged dumplings, like small white ingots, and couldn't help but laugh: "You, I told you to go home and rest, just cook something simple to eat, why bother wrapping dumplings?"

  Han Youniang helped him take off his dirty robe, and said with a smile: "Master, today is the New Year's Day, how can you be so careless? This... this is our first New Year together."

  Yang Ling was stunned, the thrilling adventure of the past day and night had made him forget that today was New Year's Day. The first New Year's Eve in the Ming Dynasty was spent with Han Youniang amidst swords and shadows. Looking at Han Youniang's face full of happiness and sweet smile without any resentment, his heart ached. In this first new year, do I have the fortune to spend the second new year with you?

  He was afraid that Han Youniang would see his expression, so he quickly turned around and picked up a robe, putting it on while saying to Han Youniang: "Huh, I really did forget. I'll go back and buy some wine and dishes later, and when I get back we can spend the New Year's Eve together and make up for the big night."

  Han Youniang replied crisply, "The new robe I made for you, Master, is on the kang, keeping warm. You can change into it when you get back."

  Yang Ling let out a "hmm" and hastily ran outside, mounting his horse with the two couriers and rushing back to the South City. Outside the South City, two battalions of soldiers were stationed, currently burying cauldrons and cooking meals. The wood they had temporarily chopped down from the mountain was damp and difficult to burn, suddenly filling the air with thick smoke.

  They arrived at the city gate and heard that Huang Xiancheng, Jiang Baizong, and several other officials had gone to Hongyan Building for dinner. The craftsmen who were repairing the city gate had also stopped work. Yang Ling looked around and saw nothing out of the ordinary, so he led a few junior clerks back in the direction they came from.

  He had been on the go since breakfast, and now he was so hungry that his stomach was sticking to his back. Although he had gradually grasped some of the essentials of horseback riding, he still felt that it was much more exhausting than walking. He had to exert himself all over while riding the horse, and was tired to the point of exhaustion, with a parched mouth and tongue.

  He saw a well by the side of the road, so he jumped off his horse and used a wooden pulley to lift up a bucket of well water. The well water was clear and transparent, with floating pieces of ice in it. Yang Ling scooped up a handful of icy cold and sweet well water and drank several big mouthfuls quickly. The icy cold well water went down into his stomach, and the sweetness caused some hidden pain in his stomach. He took a few deep breaths, and then he washed his face thoroughly with the well water. Standing up straight, he stretched his waist, and the white mist rose from his body as his hair, which had been wetted by the water, suddenly became stiff and hard.

  At this time, more than a dozen cavalrymen rushed out of the military camp outside the city. Because the horse was too fast, when they saw several people standing at the wellhead wearing courier attire, the leading general hastily pulled the reins and still galloped for over ten yards before pulling back the warhorse to return.

  Yang Ling looked at the general surrounded by soldiers in astonishment. The man was about forty years old, slender, dark-skinned, with a faint mustache under his chin. However, upon closer inspection, his high cheekbones and triangular eyes with more white than black somewhat ruined his elegant demeanor.

  His face was cold and stern, obviously suppressing his anger. When the war horse arrived in front of him, he raised the reins with a proud expression, holding the whip in one hand, looking down at them from above and asked: "Are you people from the postal station?"

  Yang Ling rubbed his frozen red hands and asked: "Which general is it? What brings you here?"

  The personal soldier beside him shouted loudly: "How dare you! This is our Commander Bi Du, hurry up and respond!"

  Yang Ling heard that he was a fourth-rank general, and indeed did not dare to be presumptuous. He hastily stood up straight, cupped his hands and said: "Your subordinate is the acting postmaster of this county, I don't know what orders the general has?"

  That general listened to the horse whip and swung it, the tip of the whip "slapped" past Yang Ling's ear, scaring Yang Ling into a sudden movement, causing those few personal soldiers to burst out laughing. Yang Ling suddenly became furious, he abruptly raised his head and glared at the commander, only to see that commander biting his teeth, coldly smiling and saying: "You, a small postal clerk, really have big guts, this general led the army to rush to the rescue overnight, saving nearly ten thousand civilians in Chicken Cry Post, but now you want this general's soldiers to starve, is this reasonable?"

  Yang Ling saw the general's arrogant and domineering attitude, originally furious, but after hearing this, he was taken aback, his anger disappearing instantly. He furrowed his brow in doubt: "How is that possible?" He turned his head to look at the still wide open south city gate, pointing at the rising cooking smoke: "I have already ordered the yamen personnel to distribute grain and fodder, clearly there are cooking fires burning outside the city, so why say we will go hungry?"

  Bi Du's face turned blue with rage as he sneered, "That is Sun Da Zhong's military camp. My men under Bi Chun are also officials and soldiers of the Ming Dynasty. Up to now, only half of the officers have received their rice rations. It is often said that even the emperor does not let his soldiers go hungry, so do you want us to fight on an empty stomach at Ji Ming Yi?"

  A thought flashed through Yang Ling's mind: "Embezzlement? ", When he left the Yicheng government office, he had personally gone to see the warehouse. The grain and grass transported were at least piled up in two warehouses, enough for five thousand soldiers for ten days. Who was so bold as to dare to deduct so blatantly, and also during wartime, it was really outrageous.

  At this time, he had a murderous heart in his mind, and for a moment, his face turned iron-green. Yang Ling suppressed his anger and bowed to Bi Dou with one hand, saying word by word like cutting iron: "Sir, this is the subordinate's negligence, please sir bear with it. Please sir immediately dispatch the military chef to come to the post office, the subordinate will rush back to the post office, personally distribute the military rations."

  A small official next to him kept quietly pulling his sleeve, seemingly wanting to say something, but Yang Ling ignored him and stared straight at the Du Si.

  That Baidu heard Yang Ling's words, the stern lines on his face slowly softened, he sat up, a pair of triangular eyes staring at Yang Ling for a moment without blinking, and suddenly asked: "What is your name?"

  Yang Ling said: "Your humble servant is Yang Ling, acting assistant magistrate of Jixing County."

  Bi Du's head nodded, straightened his body and chuckled: "Good, good deputy Yang Ling, I will remember. Qiu Da Peng, you quickly chase up to Guan Shouying, tell them to be honest and not to rob food, just say that Deputy Yang is about to open the warehouse, I will return to the big camp to wait for your news, haha..."