Chapter 1156: Carrying on the Past and Opening up the Future (Forty-Six)

In December, Jicheng was already covered in silver. The whole city was covered in a white coat. It was the season when water turned into ice, but Jicheng did not seem to feel the cold. The whole city was still in a state of excitement. For hundreds of years, the former Yan State had been committed to raising and strengthening the city walls, which were now torn to pieces. Piles of old bricks and stones were bought by batches of merchants and reinvested in the construction of the new city. Countless carriages came and went. Before the newly fallen snow had time to settle, it had been crushed into a pool of muddy water by countless big feet and countless wheels.

In previous years, the shops in the city were the slowest in business at this time of year, and the business would not improve until the twelfth lunar month. However, this year is very different from previous years. After the large-scale construction of the new city was launched, it has driven the entire city. People who are used to staying at home during the winter have already left their homes one by one. Now is a good time to make money. Whether it is to demolish the old city wall or to work on the construction site outside the city, it is a daily cash payment. With money to be made, who would stay at home during the winter?

After making money, the hands are more active, and naturally they are more generous. The teahouses and wine shops in the city are doing very good business. Every time it is mealtime, groups of people flock to the restaurant, making the bosses very happy.

This year is not ordinary!

The people who were eating were talking about a new construction site that had recently opened. The boss of that site offered higher wages. They exchanged what they had so that they could get the latest information and find better jobs with higher incomes. The Han army was defeated in Pengcheng, which was also one of the hot news focuses recently. However, no one was worried about the war. A small defeat was nothing. The Chu people angered the king, and the army was about to go over. Those arrogant Chu people would probably be wiped out in an instant. It must not be a big deal, otherwise the bigwigs in Jicheng would still be sitting on the Diaoyutai one by one, without any panic. What should they do?

Soldiers felt differently from ordinary people. Ma Yin was one of them. He was a platoon leader of the Youth Guards Corps. There was a special guard force in the Youth Guards Corps. Its daily task was to protect the security of the various government offices in Jicheng and the safety of Jicheng.

The Youth Guards Corps had four armies with nearly 100,000 people. The large troops were stationed around Jicheng, and only their guard troops were stationed in the city. Ma Yin's platoon was usually responsible for the safety of the Ministry of War. As a guard, Ma Yin wore brand new military uniforms every day and stood at the door of the most powerful and important department in the entire Han Dynasty. In the eyes of outsiders, he was very impressive and envied many people. However, Ma Yin was very distressed. In his opinion, he was just a vase. A clothes rack, he had no work every day, just being a door god here. Some of his fellow countrymen who entered the Youth Guard Corps at the same time as him were now battalion commanders, while he was still hanging around in a small platoon leader position. Who made him not be in the combat unit? In the combat unit. There are plenty of opportunities to make merit and promotion, but here. There are too few opportunities to make merit. If you want to climb up step by step, there is basically no other way except to wait for seniority.

But Ma Yin clearly felt the solemn atmosphere in the Ministry of War during this period of time.

Usually, the officials who came in and out of the Ministry of War were all relaxed, but since the incident of the New First Army, everyone's face was tense, as if someone owed them money. The lively Ministry of War Yamen became dead silent, and only the footsteps in and out reminded that there were still hundreds of officials and clerks in the Ministry of War.

During this period of time, even the king came twice. Obviously, the defeat of the New First Army had a great impact on the Ministry of War and the court. In Ma Yin's memory, the king rarely set foot in the Ministry of War Yamen, except for this month.

The change in atmosphere made Ma Yin more vigilant, and he reminded his subordinates to pay attention to their appearance and standing posture from time to time. None of the people who came in and out here were easy to mess with. If they picked any one out, their rank was much higher than theirs. If they caught any sore spot, it would be no joke.

Who made them unhappy and depressed now! Ma Yin heard that the king was angry in the Ministry of War.

Today's situation was even more unusual. Early in the morning, Ma Yin just came to check the change of guards, and unexpectedly saw the commander of the Central Army Group, Ye Zhen, appear in front of the Ministry of War. Following him were the famous Iron-footed General Infantry in the entire Han army, Kong Fang, and Yang Fugui. The four giants of the Central Army Group were all present at the same time, which made Ma Yin feel that something big must be happening.

However, the shocking thing was just beginning. As time went by, Ma Yin suddenly saw the commander of the Northern Army, Xu Yuan. Unlike Ye Zhen's gentleness, Xu Yuan seemed to have a murderous aura when he stood there, and his whole body exuded a fierce momentum. Behind Xu Yuan, Yan Peng, Luo Weiran, Gongsun Yi and others were like their commander, like a knife, exuding a compelling aura from the inside out, which made Ma Yin straighten his chest involuntarily. Xu Yuan's Northern Army was the army that fought the most and had the greatest military exploits in the Han Dynasty.

After standing guard at the Ministry of War for a long time, there was still a big advantage, that is, I knew many senior officials, and all of them were famous generals. Of course, Ma Yin recognized them, but they could not recognize Ma Yin.

Shortly after Xu Yuan left, there was the sound of horse hoofs, and a group of cavalry appeared in Ma Yin's field of vision. They were all tall horses, and a man jumped off the horse. Ma Yin trembled. If Xu Yuan is the general with the most outstanding military exploits, , then this one is the highest-ranking general, because his sister is the king's princess.

He Lanxiong, the commander of the Eastern Group Army, behind him, three people walked side by side, Yan Haibo, Ding Wei, and Gu Li, especially Gu Li, the commander of the Huns Independent Cavalry Division, with a ferocious stainless steel mask on his face. No matter how conspicuous she is, although she debuted late, in terms of fame, she is much more famous than Commander Yan Haibo and Commander Ding Wei.

Ma Yin was already a little numb. What happened today? The important generals stationed in all sides of the Han Dynasty returned to Jicheng one after another. They had already reached three army groups. I am afraid that the remaining few will not be there. Far.

Sure enough, not long after He Lanxiong entered, another wave of people arrived at the Yamen of the Ministry of War. Meng Chong, the commander of the Southern Field Army, and his two army commanders Zheng Xiaoyang and Tie Xuan. Walking beside Meng Chong and chatting and laughing with him was the commander of the Qilu Army Corps. Bai Yucheng, as well as Hengdao, Hutou and Wei Zhiwen behind him.

Before this group of people entered, there was the sound of horse hooves behind them, and another group of people galloped in. Looking at the appearance of these people, Ma Yin immediately recognized that these were the three leaders of the Donghu Independent Cavalry Division, Agu Huaien. , wooden bones, high cars.

In addition to the important figures of the New First Army, other ministries and armies gathered at the Ministry of War Yamen today.

Sure enough, something big had happened. Ma Yin thought excitedly, whether the king decided to use troops against Chu, so he recruited these generals one by one to arrange for big things. If this was the case, he must find himself after he was laid off. His boss applied to be transferred to the field army. He was very tired of standing guard here. It was not as refreshing as the field army. I secretly made a small calculation in my heart. I had saved nearly one hundred taels of silver in the past two years, and then I would go to my colleagues to join in the money. I would treat my boss to a good meal and buy two taels of Wu's best wine. Bottle, you must ask your boss to agree to transfer you.

He was thinking about it in his mind, but when he looked up, he was startled. Several soldiers came towards him, but his boss's boss's boss came. Shangguan Hong, the commander of the Young Guards Corps, and his four subordinate commanders. , Yang Dasha, Guo Laowang, Guan Bo, Qu Zhen.

Ma Yin straightened his chest immediately. When those people came before, he dared to look up and down at the appearance of these famous generals, but when these people came, he only dared to stare at one place in front of him. He couldn't even move his eyes.

"The military posture is not bad!" He vaguely heard one of them seeming to praise them.

"The military appearance is good, but the key is to be able to fight!" The voice was loud, and it sounded like Yang Dasha's rough voice. "These Guard Wu troops occupy the designation and personnel of our Young Guards. But being used as an honor guard all day long is not cost-effective. Commander, please tell the king to kick them out of the Young Guards."

Hearing this, Ma Yin felt nervous. When he pricked up his ears and wanted to listen again, the other party had already entered the door and walked away.

"It's past noon. You have to be transferred quickly, otherwise there will be no chance. If you really want to be kicked out of the Young Guards like Commander Yang said, it will be even more difficult to be transferred to the combat unit in the future." Ma Ma Yin shivered, he didn't want to stand in a military position here for the rest of his life.

Ma Yin, who was thinking about something, did not see that three more soldiers came in front of the gate. However, compared with the previous generals who held their heads high and their chests high, these three were a little sluggish. Their faces were blue and their eyes were black. They were the three division commanders of the New First Army. The first one was Cui Chengxiu, the acting commander and commander of the first division, Gao Chengdong of the second division, and Dong Zhuang of the third division. However, their commander Zhang Hongyu was no longer there. . It wasn't until the three of them stepped through the door that Ma Yin realized that he was so distracted just now that he didn't even salute them. God, they wouldn't notice this. (To be continued)