Chapter 540 539 Good News

"Chase after them and seize the cart."

The personal soldiers and generals such as Dong Yikui heard his words and knew what Ma Fang meant, and then they raised their arms and shouted.

Robbing the cart means robbing money.

Although the property on these carts was looted by the Tartars from the Han people, everyone knew that the owner of these things might no longer be in this world.

The cruelty of the Tartars doomed them to not survive.

So, the Ming army, from generals to soldiers, had no sense of guilt for robbing these things. These were the spoils of war after their fight, and they should share them.

The shouts one after another sounded in the Ming army, and everyone was stimulated by the money in front.

As long as they hold on for a moment longer, they will not only get the honor of defeating the Tartars, but also have a lot of money to distribute. The already tired spirits will be excited again, and the morale will be greatly improved.

The shouts in the rear and the fear of the cavalry in front, even Huang Taiji, did not figure out what made the morale of the Ming army suddenly improve at this time.

After running for a long time and leaving behind many carts, the pursuit of the Ming army gradually slowed down, because the terrain became steeper at this time.

There was no longer a wide flat land on both sides of the road, but a sloping slope instead, which was not conducive to the cavalry's galloping.

The change in terrain not only affected the speed of the Tatars' retreat, but also affected the speed of the Ming army's pursuit.

The two armies had to move closer to the road, and the Tatars also took this opportunity to release several waves of arrow rain to stop the Ming army's pursuit.

In the competition of horse riding and archery, the Ming army was obviously at a disadvantage.

The Xuanfu cavalry trained by Ma Fang could only maintain a considerable combat effectiveness during the charge, because although the Ming army's horse riding and archery were not as good as the nomadic people who had lived on the grassland for a long time, they could be equipped with sophisticated firearms to supplement.

And firearms can only be disposable consumables in cavalry battles. On the bumpy horseback, the Ming cavalry could not complete the reloading at all, let alone during the charge.

In fact, the Ming army was at a disadvantage in a long-term battle.

This is also the huge gap between firearms and crossbows during this period. Under the premise that the loading is simplified and the firing rate has not been greatly improved, firearms are still inferior to crossbows.

Having seized many carts, the Ming army did not want to continue the pursuit. Although continuing the pursuit may magnify the results of the battle, it may also encounter the dying blow of the Tartar.

However, all this did not happen, and Ma Fang was in control of everything.

Stop while you are ahead.

At this time, in Ma Fang's mind, this word emerged.

It is impossible to brake urgently when chasing, which will only cause a huge man-made disaster, that is, the collision or even trampling of the Ming army.

Raise your right hand and slowly reduce the speed of the horse.

The generals behind him followed suit and raised their hands to signal to stop.

Seeing the commander do this, the Ming cavalry also slowed down their horses, watching the Tartar not far ahead running farther and farther, and two waves of arrow rain burst out during the period.

However, the gap between the two armies had been opened at this time, and the arm strength of the Tartar cavalry was more or less affected by the continuous fighting, so most of the arrows fell in front of the Ming army.

Even if a few arrows fell into the ranks of the Ming army, they were blocked by the well-prepared Ming cavalry with small round shields and fell to the ground.

After all, the Mongols are good at using light arrows. The lethality of such arrows is actually limited, but they fly farther. For an army without defense and weak protection, it is a fatal blow.

However, the Ming army has been fighting against the Mongolian Tartars for a long time, so they naturally know what kind of equipment to use.

The generals of the Ming army actually know the importance of excellent equipment, which is the basic guarantee for winning the war, and naturally will not deduct money for equipment.

Of course, this can only happen in border towns where there have been wars for a long time, and it is hard to say for the guards in the inland areas that have been peaceful for a long time.

In the Jiajing period, although corruption in the Ming Dynasty's Ministry of Works and other government offices has become very common and even regularized, whether it is the inner court or the weapons bureau of the Ministry of Works, the weapons sent to the border towns dare not be all defective, but only reduce the defective ratio.

There are actually many benefits to this, that is, the border towns can ask for more equipment from the Ministry of War every year, and the corresponding Ministry of Households and the Ministry of Works will issue more manufacturing tasks.

It was only during the Wanli period that the quality of Ming army weapons was completely out of control due to the interaction of multiple factors, and most of the products were defective.

The greedy appetite was also cultivated bit by bit.

Two groups of people were left to monitor the movements of the enemy cavalry to prevent them from making a comeback, while the rest of the people began to go back, clean up the battlefield, and treat the wounded.

The two groups of people were naturally monitoring so that they could alternately cover each other when the Tartars counterattacked.

In fact, Huang Taiji supported the retreat of Sun's troops in order to consider alternately covering the retreat, but Sun's troops were beaten so badly that they could not replace them at all, so they had to stay behind.

Ma Fang brought his personal guards and soon arrived in front of the carts in front. Looking at the boxes and bags filled with things, he was delighted.

The things in the boxes were unlikely to be gold and silver treasures. After all, the Tartars looted villages and towns, and it seemed that they did not capture the city, so it was difficult to obtain a large amount of gold and silver.

It should be clothes and fabrics, and the bags are most likely food.

Ma Fang had already made his own judgment, but he still had a few large boxes opened. He wanted to see with his own eyes what was inside.

Soon, a soldier dismounted, climbed onto the cart and opened the boxes and bags.

The bags did contain grain, salt and tea, and the boxes contained mostly clothes and cloth, but there were also a small amount of other items, all necessities of life.

Relatively speaking, Ma Fang likes food and clothing more.

Food is the cornerstone of the stability of the army. In fact, this is not only true for the army, but also for a country.

Clothes and cloth are what soldiers need. You can wear them yourself or take them home. Even if the size is not suitable, your family can change them and wear them.

Moreover, these clothes seemed to be of good quality in terms of fabric and workmanship. They must have been snatched from the homes of landlords and squires. They included not only Songjiang cotton but also many silk products.

There are also many types of cloth, but this makes it easier to distribute.

In fact, at the beginning of the founding of the Ming Dynasty, cloth was often used as military pay, and because of social productivity, military households also liked to accept cloth as military pay.

This is actually the main reason why cotton was vigorously promoted in the Ming Dynasty. Cotton was not only used to make cotton-padded jackets and quilts, but was also used to weave cloth. As a result, the textile industry in Jiangnan developed greatly.

Zhu Yuanzhang established the tax system, and the physical goods received were directly distributed to the military households of the Ming army in this way.

But now, with the difficulty of transporting physical taxes and levies, the imperial court has become more willing to use money to pay military salaries, instead of food and cloth in the early Ming Dynasty.

On several carts, only one bag of gold and silver was found, which was only more than a hundred taels of silver. Although it was a large amount of wealth, it seemed extremely small when placed in an army of tens of thousands of people.

"I guess all the good things were taken away by Huang Taiji and his soldiers."

Seeing that there was not much gold and silver, Dong Yikui was just a little disappointed and said bitterly.

"Will you leave good things in the cart?"

Ma Fang didn't care. These looted things were better than nothing, and most of them would be distributed to the soldiers below anyway.

But if he really wants something good, he will definitely get the big share. After all, he still needs to make friends and take care of various relationships in the capital.

"Tell them to pay attention, especially the boxes containing toys, calligraphy and paintings, and keep them all for me. I can use them."

Ma Fang left the errands to Dong Yikui, but still asked for what she wanted.

"Yes, Marshal."

Of course Dong Yikui knew what Ma Fang wanted these things for. In fact, Ma Fang was not a scholar. Of course, if he wanted these toys, calligraphy and paintings, he would not keep them for himself, but give them to others.

Even a big boss understands this.

The military rations and military pay of the Xuanfu were given priority by the imperial court. Why?

As long as he, Dong Yikui, deducts a little from the food and salary he receives from Bingbei Road, he will be more honest than Ma Fang.

However, his eyes were actually more focused on the bag of gold and silver.

They are all generals, and they have no shortage of food and clothing, and they are still rich in gold and silver.

Ma Fang took people back to check on the treatment of the wounded.

For those who survived a battle, even the wounded, Ma Fang would order the army doctors to treat them with all their heart. This was also a way to maintain the morale of the soldiers.

Who knows if he will become one of them after the next war.

If the general gives up at will, no one will be willing to work for him in the future.

Many bad habits in the Ming army were actually accumulated bit by bit.

Some generals only care about money and ignore the soldiers, so the first thing the soldiers think about during battle is to protect themselves.

If things go on like this, the combat power of the Ming army will naturally decline rapidly and out of control.

The dead soldiers were cremated and then taken back to their homes in Xuanfu by their fellow soldiers for burial. This was also the tradition of the Ming army and the Han army.

As long as conditions permit, in fact, soldiers will not be buried casually, and they will try their best to return them to their roots.

He also wanted to write a battle report first, and report his great victory in Pinggu to Beijing as soon as possible.

This is merit and reward. I despise the timely reward of silver and a few pieces of cloth, but the soldiers need it.

He ordered the military scribe to write a simple battle report. There was plenty of time to write a detailed battle report, as well as a merit book, which the Ministry of War needed to record merit.

However, Ma Fang still wrote a letter in his own hand and sent someone to the Wei family in the capital.

In the letter, Ma Fang naturally praised King Yu and others. He bluntly said that because of King Yu's care, the Xuanfu army was able to receive sufficient supplies from the court, so their morale was high, and they were able to defeat the captive cavalry with overwhelming force.

These words were also told by Wei Guangde to Ma Fang in his previous letters.

Because, except for very special letters, he would selectively give these letters to King Yu for viewing.

Ma Fang knew that this was also to establish his status in the mind of King Yu, the future emperor of the Ming Empire.

This is Wei Guangde taking care of him, and of course he is willing to do it.

As for how to distribute the spoils, it was naturally none of Ma Fang's business, but at night, the two big boxes were carried into Ma Fang's tent by Dong Yikui's soldiers.

The work of cleaning up the battlefield has not yet been completed. The bodies of the Tatars have to be disposed of, but they are just buried casually. It will take time to clean up the usable things.

It is estimated that the cleaning work will not be completed until tomorrow.

After Dong Yikui took the people away. Ma Fang opened the box with his own hands. There were many scrolls, and there were many pen and ink inkstones and other things at the bottom of the box. There were several pieces of beautifully burnt paper porcelain from the previous dynasty, and a few of them were made of gold, silver, and ivory.

After just a glance, Ma Fang closed the lid.

I don’t know if I will be summoned to the capital this time, let’s talk about it later.

These two boxes of things must be sent to the capital and handed over to Wei Guangde.

Whatever he likes, he will naturally keep first, and the rest will be given to officials from the Ministry of War and other government offices.

Anyway, Ma Fang doesn’t understand these things. He can get 10,000 taels of silver from the military pay allocated to Xuanfu by the court every year, and he is satisfied.

The battle report of the Xuanfu army was sent to the capital by express horses at nightfall. Although the martial law in the capital has been lifted after Huang Taiji led his troops to the north, the curfew at night remains.

However, because it was wartime, the officials sent by the Ministry of War at various city gates were not withdrawn, so the Xuanfu messenger was immediately lifted on the city wall by a hanging basket, and the messenger and the battle report were immediately sent to the Ministry of War.

The great results recorded in the battle report of Ma Fang's army undoubtedly revitalized the solemn atmosphere of the Ministry of War. In fact, the Ministry of War had been dead for the past two days, because the news that Sun Bin, the general of Jizhen, was defeated and killed had been spread to the capital and even verified.

The Jizhen cavalry suffered heavy losses in this battle and was no longer able to continue to fight the Tartars head-on.

Such a battle report made even Yang Bo's eyelids jump.

However, he still honestly delivered the battle report to the cabinet and waited for the emperor to read it, even though he was in a state of panic and fear at the moment.

Because of the outbreak of the war, he had not returned to the mansion to rest for several days. He just dealt with it casually in his duty room, and the clerk also made a bed for him on the side of the duty room.

This day, he was sleeping, and was suddenly awakened by the noise outside and the "dong dong dong" knocking on the door.

"What's the matter?"

Yang Bo was not angry because he was disturbed. In fact, at this moment, he was worried about whether there was another bad news.

He had heard the noisy voices outside, and it was obvious that something was not going to happen.

He only heard Ge Jin's voice coming from outside the door, "Sir, Sir Yang, good news, the Xuanfu army defeated the Tartars in the north of Pinggu and beheaded thousands of them."

Ge Jin's voice seemed very excited, and Yang Bo sat up from the bed with a start, then quickly put on his clothes and came to open the door.

Soon, Ge Jin and several clerks came in quickly, and Ge Jin was holding a battle report in his hand.

The clerk immediately stepped forward to help Yang Bo put on his clothes, but Yang Bo had already taken the battle report from Ge Jin. A clerk came to illuminate, and then with a few weak oil lamps, Yang Bo quickly read the battle report of Xuanfu Ma Fang's army.

"Finally, I can explain to His Majesty."

After reading it, Yang Bo couldn't help but burst into tears.

These two days, he, the Minister of War, has undoubtedly been under tremendous pressure.

All the news was of failure, and in the end, the Jizhen army was defeated and the general was killed. If it weren't for the trust of Emperor Jiajing, he would have been dismissed long ago.

With good news, he naturally wanted to send it to the palace as soon as possible.

"Prepare the sedan chair and enter the palace."

"Sir, His Majesty should rest."

Ge Jin didn't know what he meant, and hurriedly said.

"Then go to Wuyi Palace first and hand it over to the elder."