Chapter 74

Yingzhou's original thousand-household commander was named Wu Fatian, a name that sounded like he was lawless and heaven-defying, but in fact, he was quite the opposite. Wu Fatian was actually a timid and very greedy person. The Yingzhou thousand-household garrison was originally supposed to have a thousand military households, with a population of about five thousand. However, at this time, the actual number of military households in the Yingzhou thousand-household garrison was only about one hundred and twenty, with fewer than five hundred people.

Yes, it was that exaggerated. Anyone who knew a bit about Ming Dynasty history would know how terrible the military household system was. It not only harmed the fathers but also the descendants of countless people. Although it had to be admitted that the military household system was still good in the early Ming Dynasty, as it not only saved the Ming court a large amount of grain but also provided a standing army of over a million.

However, since the mid-Ming Dynasty, with the rise of the civil official group and the deterioration of military discipline in various garrisons, a large number of military fields were occupied by officers at all levels, and countless military households became tenant farmers of the officers. Military households who could not afford to eat began to flee in large numbers. The officers were surprisingly consistent in their attitude, which was to let them go. After all, without these military households, they could occupy the military fields even more recklessly. Wu Fatian was a typical example, but his luck was not good, and he ended up in jail.

Yueyang was riding a red warhorse up a slope, followed by Shunbao and a clerk sent by Zheng Fakui, along with a hundred fully armed cavalrymen, making a rather impressive sight.

Winter was coming to an end, and the winter sun felt very warm on the body. Soon, a small castle appeared before Yueyang's eyes.

At this moment, the clerk who had been closely following Shunbao spurred his horse forward two steps and pointed to the castle, saying to Yueyang, "Sir, the castle ahead is the thousand-household garrison. However, most of the military households have already fled, and only the old, weak, and sick remain. If you want to select officers from among them, it might be difficult..."

After saying this, the clerk shook his head, clearly not optimistic about the trip.

Hearing the clerk's words, Shunbao glared at him, thinking, "How can this guy be so tactless? The young master came all this way to handle business, and he's saying such discouraging things."

Yueyang, however, was not bothered by it. He just smiled slightly and said softly, "There's nothing we can do about it. Everyone in the court knows that the military household system has collapsed, but there's no solution. After all, this involves the livelihood of millions of people, and a single misstep could cause chaos throughout the Ming Dynasty."

According to the usual way of things, after Yueyang, who was now the highest-ranking official, said this, a normal person should have tactfully agreed or remained silent. However, this clerk seemed to be getting excited and said loudly, "But the Ming Dynasty is not what it used to be. During the Hongwu and Yongle periods, the military households could still be self-sufficient and even pay grain to the court. But after the Tumu Fort incident, the military discipline began to deteriorate, and the military households have become a parasitic tumor that will drag the Ming Dynasty down!"

"Hey... Why are you so ungrateful!" Shunbao was not pleased and spurred his horse forward two steps, glaring at the clerk with disdain, "My young master asked you to come to guide us, not to give us a lecture! These matters are for the emperor and the court ministers to worry about. You, a small clerk, have no right to discuss state affairs!"

"Who said that?" The clerk, feeling the disdainful gaze of Shunbao, turned red with anger and quickly defended himself, "Lu You once said: 'Though low in position, I dare not forget the state.' Besides, we are scholars!"

Shunbao sneered and said, "Lu You? Never heard of him."

"You..." The clerk, greatly offended by Shunbao's words, his neck turned red, and he pointed at Shunbao for a long time before finally managing to say, "You are not worth discussing with!"

"Hmph..." Shunbao ignored the poor scholar and continued to follow Yueyang with his head held high.

Seeing the two bickering, Yueyang shook his head helplessly and sped up.

Soon, the group arrived at the castle. Upon approaching, Yueyang discovered that the castle was located on the top of a small hill, about one mile long, with mountains on the east and west sides. There were only two roads to enter the castle from the north and south, and there was a well on the hill. It was a typical easy-to-defend and hard-to-attack location. With enough food and a thousand soldiers, it would be impossible for fewer than ten thousand people to take this place. It was clear that the person who chose the location for this castle had a good military eye.

However, when Yueyang and his group entered the castle, their initial good impression was completely ruined. As soon as they entered, a foul smell of sewers, various excrement, and other unknown odors hit them, and Yueyang, who was unprepared, almost fell off his horse.

"What the hell is this smell?" Shunbao's voice immediately rang out, "What kind of place is this? It's even more stinky than our toilet!"

"Enough, stop talking, let's go in!" Yueyang glared at the complaining Shunbao and rode in without expression. However, no one knew that at this moment, he was regretting not bringing a mask.

As they continued forward, Yueyang was even more shocked. The situation here was truly dire. On both sides of the narrow streets were rows of dilapidated huts made of thatch. Some elderly and emaciated people and children sat in front of their doors, staring blankly at Yueyang and his group. Yueyang looked closely and saw that there were almost no young adults. The few slightly younger men were all dirty and stood to one side, and some ragged women sat in front of their doors, watching Yueyang and his group with eyes filled with deep despair and numbness.

Yueyang closed his eyes deeply. If it weren't for the uniquely Chinese architecture and people around him, he would have thought he was in a modern African refugee camp. He whispered to himself, "I never thought the people's lives could be so dire. No wonder... no wonder..."

Seeing the tragic scene, even the usually talkative Shunbao fell silent. He muttered, "I thought Wulizhai was poor enough, but compared to the military households here, we are living like gods!"

This is something that is truly frightening when compared. Seeing everything before him, Yueyang really felt that Shunbao's words were right. Although Wulizhai was poor, it was still bearable. Compared to the military households here, the people of Wulizhai were living in a honey jar.

Yueyang slowly closed his eyes, and his hands unconsciously clenched tightly.

"Heaven, you brought me to this world and let me see this. Do you want me to save this country and nation that is about to be broken?"

Yueyang, who had always been an atheist, looked at the people struggling on the brink of death and, for the first time, began to doubt the existence of deities.

Yueyang and his group slowly arrived at the center of the castle, which was the original residence of Wu Fatian. They found that more than ten officials in official attire and dozens of servants were already standing at the door to welcome them.

Of course, these officials and servants were much better dressed and looked healthier than the military households they had seen on the street. Many of them had nearly fawning smiles as they welcomed Yueyang. When Yueyang began to dismount, they all knelt down and said in unison, "We, the humble servants, greet the Inspector General, wishing you good health and prosperity!"

"Please rise, all of you!"

Yueyang, who had just become an Inspector General a few days ago, was not used to people kneeling to him. He quickly raised his hand to indicate that they should stand up.

"Thank you, sir!" They all stood up.

After the formalities were completed, a man in his thirties, wearing a blue official robe with a tiger embroidered on the front, walked up with a fawning smile and said to Yueyang, "Inspector General, you have had a long journey. We have already prepared a welcome banquet for you inside to wash away the dust of your journey. Please come in!"

Yueyang did not pay attention to this officer but slowly scanned the group of officers before focusing on this one and asked, "You are...?"

The officer smiled obsequiously and said, "I am the deputy commander of the garrison, Feng Xiaoming. I was so happy to hear of your arrival that I couldn't sleep all night. I arranged everything early this morning..."

Seeing that the officer was about to continue, Yueyang quickly interrupted him, "Stop... Stop... I have a question first. You are... Feng Xiaoyun, right? Let me ask you, are all the officers of the garrison here?"

Feng Xiaoyun was taken aback for a moment and then replied, "Sir, except for the commander Wu, who is under arrest, all the officers of the garrison are here."

"All here?" Yueyang couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed and muttered, "They all look like a bunch of farmers and drunkards..."

Yueyang's voice was very low, but a few sharp-eared officers still heard it, and their faces immediately turned red, though they did not dare to speak.

However, there was an unexpected voice that surprised Yueyang.

"Sir, your words are surprising. In my opinion, the cavalry behind you are just a bunch of empty shells, no better than drunkards and farmers!"

"Hmm..."

For a moment, everyone was shocked, and Yueyang's eyebrows immediately furrowed...