Northwest, Ganzhou Wei, pasture.

This ranch was founded in the 57th year of Kangxi, and when the northwest garrison gathered, some mares and foals were transported from the Kouwai horse farm. After several years of shepherding, the foals that were transported that year have been "all in the mouth", and the mares have also been bred with good breeds, giving birth to many foals.

Although the scale of this ranch is not as large as that of the outside pasture, it is also unique in the northwest.

In addition to pasture, the surplus grain of Gansu Juntun is also used as horse farm feed, and these horses are raised with fat and bright hair, extremely spiritual, and cold-tolerant and load-bearing, which are three points stronger than the adult military horses transported from outside the mouth.

However, the number is limited, there are less than 1,000 stallions in the "Qi Mouth", 2,000 ponies over the age of two, and more than 800 foals under the age of two.

Yue Zhongqi, the left governor of the Northwest Army and the governor of Sichuan, was standing by the grazing pen, caressing the mane of a stallion in his hand.

There were 130,000 troops in the northwest, 50,000 in Xining and 80,000 in Ganzhou. Before the death of the first emperor, he issued a decree, and half of the Mongolian soldiers of the Horqin and Khalkha tribes who had accompanied the expedition continued to be stationed, and most of them returned to the ministry.

The officers and men of the Green Battalion were also ordered to streamline and eliminate the old and weak.

In this way, there are 90,000 of the 130,000 troops, 30,000 in Xining, and 60,000 in Ganzhou.

Now the Northwest Army is under the jurisdiction of Bei Ziyanxin, the general of Fuyuan, in fact, the military and government of Sichuan, Shaanxi, and Gansu are in the hands of Nian Qianyao.

Nian Qianyao is now the governor of Sichuan and Shaanxi, and he can't be stationed in the Northwest Army, so he ordered his old subordinate, Yue Zhongqi, who is now the governor of Sichuan, to replace him in the army.

So, Yanxin led the general to seal the letter and guard Xining; Yue Zhongqi was stationed in Ganzhou as Nian Qianyao's deputy.

Yue Zhongqi is only 37 years old this year, in the prime of life, but he has deep seniority in the Northwest Army. He was a pioneer officer of the officers and men who entered Tibet, and his meritorious service was outstanding, and he was ranked first in the list of meritorious officers and soldiers who entered Tibet reported by the Ministry of War a few days ago.

Now, he looked at the horses that were about to grow up, thinking about the number of military horses in the northwest.

There are more than 30,000 military horses in the northwest, and less than half of them are healthy. In the Qinghai-Tibet region, the terrain is towering, and people and horses are injured after a long journey.

Judging from the officers and soldiers who entered Tibet in the 58th and 59th years of Kangxi, the death of the war horses was one of the important reasons for the weakening of the soldiers' combat strength.

For this reason, Yue Zhongqi knew that if the officers and soldiers of the Eight Banners wanted to exert their combat effectiveness in the northwest, they must be equipped with two horses.

The soldier sent by the imperial court to negotiate peace with the Qinghai rebels has already gone to Xining. It's just a formality, and sending troops to Qinghai has become inevitable.

Now, the garrison of Ganzhou has strengthened its training and is waiting for the order of the imperial court at any time.

Yue Zhongqi was thinking about going out of his mind, and a guard came to report that someone from the capital came.

"Is it the official of the Lifan Yuan who sent the lama over?" Yue Zhongqi asked.

After reporting back to the imperial court from the Qinghai war, the Lifan Yuan has sent several batches of lamas over in the past two months. These lamas will go to the Qinghai tribes one step ahead of the ministers of the imperial court to stabilize the hearts of the people.

"Lord Huiyu, it's not a lama, it's a household servant." The guard officer handed the name card with both hands.

Yue Zhongqi took it and read it in a low voice: "Hubu Zuo Shilang, second-class uncle Cao Hao...... ...... of the Gansu military tun matter"

He received an official letter from the Ministry of War half a month ago, knowing that the imperial court had sent officials from the Ministry of Household to inspect the military tun, and he thought that he could arrive before the Mid-Autumn Festival, but he didn't expect it to arrive now.

He is the governor of Sichuan, from a first-class military general; Tobe Shirou is only from the second grade, and it is still lower than him. However, Cao Hao has a high rank and is a Beijing official, so Yue Zhongqi saw the post, and hurriedly summoned a few officials under the account, and hurried out to greet him.

Outside the guardhouse, Cao Hao had already dismounted, and behind him stood Tianyou and Hongpu, looking at the military camp in the distance.

There was a faint shout of soldiers training, adding a bit of solemnity.

Tianyou and Hongpu both looked at each other, full of curiosity.

When they were in the capital, they also had the opportunity to go to the Eight Banners Camp to play, and looking at the loose soldiers and the training ground overgrown with wild grass, it really made people doubt whether they could protect their families and defend the country.

The military camp in front of you is different, just talking about the access control, it is much stricter than the Eight Banners stationed in Beijing.

Even if Cao Hao showed his identity, the guard colonel did not release him directly, but sent him to the commander of the barracks.

As early as before leaving Beijing, Cao Hao made a detailed conclusion of the northwest garrison and knew Yue Zhongqi. If he is not mistaken, this person will be the person who succeeded Nian Qianyao in charge of the military affairs in the northwest, and because he was a descendant of Yue Fei, he was falsely accused of rebellion, involving the literary prison of the Yongzheng Dynasty or something.

Cao Hao didn't know the specific details, but he knew that this person made meritorious contributions in the Kangxi Dynasty, started in the Yongzheng Dynasty, and was still in the Qianlong period, and he was a veteran figure of the Three Dynasties.

When he finished from the military department to Yue Zhongqi's resume, Cao Hao was very surprised that this person was so young. is only seven years older than Cao Hao, not the clan and the Eight Banners of Manchuria, can survive this step at such a young age, and he is second to none among the military generals in other provinces.

At this time, Yue Zhongqi had already brought a few officials to greet him.

Seeing Cao Hao wearing a golden chicken supplement, Yue Zhongqi was also taken aback.

He was born in the Eight Banners of the Han Army, donated officials, changed from civilian to military positions, and has been serving in Sichuan, never been to the capital, and has never seen Cao Hao.

is young, he is a second-class uncle, no need to ask, it must be his father and ancestor Yuyin.

However, as far as he knew, there were many young and high-ranking martial artists among the sons of nobles, but it was not easy to be so young in the civil office.

Cao Hao came with an order, and Yue Zhongqi asked Sheng Ann respectfully, and after a meeting, Yue Zhongqi greeted Cao Hao and others at the gate of the station.

But it was placed only in one of the courtyards in a row near the barracks gate, and there were two gates away from the garrison of the army.

Cao Hao did not post outside, and directly brought people to the army station, except for official affairs, which was a private matter.

Yongqing is in the Northwest Army, and the two have been separated for several years, and Cao Hao is also very worried about this friend who has been friends since he was a teenager.

Yongqing is now a Sanpin guerrilla, he once followed the army into Tibet, and when the military department reported his merits this spring, his name was also listed in the list of meritorious heroes, and he should have been promoted to one level to a staff general or two levels to a deputy general as a reward.

However, it was not done later.

Cao Hao made a special trip to inquire and knew that it was Yongzheng Yubi who hooked Yongqing's name.

His surname is Wanyan, and even if he stands on his own, he is still the cousin of the Fourteenth Fujin. In addition, his earlier promotions in the Northwest Army were all requested by the Fourteenth Elder Brother.

In Yongzheng's eyes, he is the authentic "Fourteen Party".

After Cao Hao knew the details, although he was not angry, he did not dare to add fuel to the fire at this time.

Yongqing is a son of Wanyan Mansion, a middle-grade military general, and he really has little weight in the Northwest Army. Even if he is dragged down by the fourteenth elder brother for a while and is jealous of Yongzheng, as long as there are no other accidents, after three years and two years, he will be forgotten by Yongzheng, and he can try his career again.

In addition to seeing Yongqing, Cao Hao was also afraid of continuing to run around, tired of Tianyou and Hongpu, thinking about repairing here for a few days, and following the arrangement of the military tent, he went to the military camp to inspect.

Tianyou and Hongpu had their eyes glued to Yue Zhongqi and couldn't take their eyes off.

The Eight Banners in the capital are not uncommon, and when they went out to socialize with their father, they also met high-ranking military attachés.

However, those famous Eight Banners magnates cannot be compared with generals like Yue Zhongqi, who have been tempered by war.

Yue Zhongqi began to guess the identities of these two little teenagers just now, the two of them were just dressed ordinarily, but they didn't look like little servants. One of them is somewhat similar to Cao Hao between his eyebrows and eyes, compared to the nephew of the Cao family, and the other one, but he doesn't know what his identity is.

As soon as Cao Hao wanted to open his mouth to ask about Yongqing, he saw Yue Zhongqi and Tianyou and Hongpu.

Cao Hao "coughed", pointed at Hongpu, and said to Yue Zhongqi: "Yue Junmen, this is Jinpu, the younger brother of the lower official." As he spoke, he pointed to Tianyou again: "This is Cao Zhan, the lower official dog." Stubborn children, as the lower officials come out to see the world, these words will be bothered by the military. ”

After saying this, he said to Tianyou and Hongpu: "I haven't seen the military gate yet!" ”

Yue Zhongqi is a native of the northwest, grew up in the northwest, and has a thick and thin surname. He didn't believe that Cao Hao had traveled thousands of miles with two teenagers, just to let them see the world.

can be said to take the opportunity to take the opportunity to go to the Northwest Army for training and seek military merits, these two are too young.

He hesitated in his heart, but his face was impassive, and said: "Cao Shilang is too modest, since ancient times, heroes have been born as young people, and his younger brother Ling Gongzi is so heroic, but it reminds Ben Du that when he was a teenager, he also followed behind his father and increased his knowledge. ”

Tianyou is okay, but he was infected by the atmosphere of the military camp for a while, and his mind is still clear.

Hongpu, as a descendant of the Aixinjue Luo clan, also yearns for the glory of his ancestors, and he can't help it, and whispers to Cao Hao: "Brother-in-law, can you talk to Yue Junmen and take us to the training ground to see it?" ”

Cao Hao raised his eyebrows, glanced at Hongpu, and said to Yue Zhongqi: "Yue Junmen, the children are still young, I don't know if this request is cheap?" ”

When Yue Zhongqi heard this, his expression slowly stiffened, and he said coldly: "The military camp is important, not a market juggling, and I ask Cao Shilang to forgive me." ”

Cao Hao has nothing here, but he still admires Yue Zhongqi's style and bones; Hongpu's face flushed, glaring at Yue Zhongqi, thinking that he couldn't wipe his face.

Cao Hao didn't care about him, and asked Yue Zhongqi about his old friend Yongqing.

"Wanyan Yongqing, guerrilla?" Yue Zhongqi listened, and his expression was already soothed: "I didn't expect Cao Shilang to be a good friend, and Shanyu was under the command of this governor in his early years. ”

At the mention of Yongqing, Yue Zhongqi's expression darkened. He really didn't expect that Yongqing, who could be ranked in the top five on the merit list for entering Tibet, was put aside by the imperial court without any reward.

He didn't stay long, sent people to look for Yongqing, and then left.

Tianyou's face was already a little happy, and he said, "Father, can I see Uncle Qing here?" ”

When Yongqing left Beijing, Tianyou had already remembered. He remembered that it was his father's best friend, a man of great stature, and every time he saw him, he would lift him up and put him on his shoulder.

In the military attache camp, Yongqing couldn't help but be stunned when he heard the words from the visitor......*

(To be continued)