The Silent Reforms of Eldridge Chapter 53

Chonghou, the prefect of Tianjin Prefecture, donated money to build the fort and ordered Hai Zhangwu to undertake it. Hai Zhangwu was a Baoyi [4] slave named Hai. Because of his meritorious service in the post of Tianjin city guard, the emperor rewarded him with a fifth-grade crown. Chonghou's salt affairs in Tianjin Road were managed by Hai Zhangwu, so he was assigned to build the fort this time. The fort was built, and two permanent five-city cannons were set up, as well as three other cannons of 5,000 and 8,000 kilograms. Generals and soldiers were sent to guard them in groups, and they bombarded them day and night. The rebels hid in their nests and did not dare to come out. I went to the team every day and could not see any trace of the rebels. I only saw plumes of black smoke rising from the camp. I was worried that the rebels would escape under the cover of smoke.

I think that the bandit army who is fleeing alone will definitely take the opportunity to flee north. Once it escapes, the brave soldiers will definitely pursue it, and the logistics and baggage are heavy and cumbersome, and they will definitely not be able to keep up. The prefectures and counties along the way were in ruins, and all the people had fled. If the soldiers were allowed to go to the villages to grab food, they would miss the important event of the pursuit. There were nearly 100,000 kilograms of white flour in the camp, so I sent people to buy several thousand kilograms of beef, cooked it, kneaded it, and mixed it into the flour. I borrowed dozens of large pots from the people and roasted it day and night, until the complexion turned yellowish. Finally, put them in white cloth bags, each bag weighs three kilograms, and distribute one bag to each soldier when preparing to leave camp as food during the march. I am old and can't digest pasta, so I grind a few liters of white rice flour, fry it and mix it with sugar; my people only have fried noodles, not beef.

We all lived on the boat and sometimes in the countinghouse. When the wind and sand were flying, I couldn't open my eyes. My colleagues were worried about the bandits attacking the camp at night. I said, "Although Changmao is a bandit, he is still a human being after all. If the officers and soldiers can't open their eyes, how can the bandits open their eyes? We only need to distinguish between them." Just go with the wind and go against it. "On the early morning of the seventh day, I saw frost flowers everywhere, all in the shape of spears. I said to Shi Shuqing: "This is a sign of war. God has already told us, so there is no need to be afraid!"

On New Year's Eve, I spent the New Year's Eve in a boat. I invited some of my fellow villagers, including Fang Yuanzhong and Shi Shuqing, to have a drink on the boat. After the guests left, I couldn't help but murmured Mr. Dongpo's poem about celebrating the New Year in a boat: "Thank you for not being too disdainful of the guests with the broken lamp, we can stay together in the lonely boat all night."

How can we bear this situation?