To some extent, Da Ming was defeated by these veterans of the bloody battle of the Hunhe River. But they didn't hold grudges, but stood up when their family and country were in danger.

Even if they are no longer young, even if they are tired and out of breath after a long journey, they still have not forgotten that they were once a soldier, a Ming soldier.

In the bloody battle of the Hunhe River, in the face of the Eight Banners who were far more numerous than themselves, they did not flinch, and fought to the last moment, and now they naturally will not have the slightest fear!

"Sage, when Emperor Yi was there, the general always told us to be honored as the Son of Heaven and to be called a saint. We've been using it ever since. ”

Zhu Youlang said in his heart, he felt that some rural villagers would not have such knowledge, and he never thought that these old men would be veterans of the bloody battle of the Hunhe River!

It was really unexpected!

"Thank you for the world."

Zhu Youlang said sincerely.

Li Dingguo was already blushing at this moment, and he suspected that these veterans were spies of the Qing army at first. It's so undeserved.

Zhu Youlang saw that the scene was a little embarrassing, so he introduced: "I will introduce to you, this is the pillar of the Ming Dynasty, Li Dingguo, the king of Jin!" ”

When those veterans learned that the person in front of them was Li Dingguo, the king of Jin who was the legendary king of the two famous kings, they all showed admiration for a while.

"It turned out to be His Royal Highness the King of Jin, who has admired the name for a long time."

The veteran led by him hugged his fist at Li Dingguo, and he could vaguely see the sassy demeanor of the year.

"This king has offended many words before, and I ask you to forgive me."

Li Dingguo returned the salute with a fist. Now he is full of admiration for these veterans.

"It's normal for His Royal Highness the King of Jin to be worried, and the soldiers are not tired of cheating."

The atmosphere eased down for a while, and Zhu Youlang hurriedly said: "Guys, put on your clothes, it's easy to get cold when it's cold." ”

It's March, but it's still a bit cold.

Zhu Youlang was worried that these veterans would be cold, and hurriedly reminded.

Young men can resist wind chill when they are infected with wind cold, but it is very troublesome for old people to be infected with wind chill.

"Thank you for your concern."

These veterans were moved to tears when they received the care of the Son of Heaven.

They put on their clothes one after another and tightly surrounded Zhu Youlang.

"Your past few decades are certainly not something that can be explained in a few words. It doesn't matter, I have time to listen to you. ”

At this moment, what Zhu Youlang wants to do most is to compensate these veterans. But he knew that the self-esteem of these veterans was very strong, and it was easy to be resisted by them if they made rash compensation, so he thought about it.

"Your Majesty, let's hurry first."

Li Dingguo proposed at the right time.

"Yes, hurry, hurry!"

Led by the veterans, the army came to a trail.

From a distance, the trail is not much different from the surrounding swamps, but if you look closely, you will see that the trail is very dry and hard, and people and horses will not sink into it if they step on it.

Zhu Youlang ordered people to do the test, and found that it was indeed not going to fall into it, and he couldn't help but be overjoyed.

"It's just that the trail is too narrow and can only be passed by one person at a time."

But compared to the hundreds of miles around, this trail is already good.

"Every year, there will be people in this Daze who don't believe in evil and break in, and it will be difficult to get out if they are trapped in it."

"Sage, my name is Zhang Zhuguo, and I don't plan to come back alive when I go out with the army this time. I only hope that if I die, I can be buried in my hometown. ”

Zhang Zhuguo heard that Chongqing had been recovered, and his only thought was to be able to return to his hometown after death.

Zhu Youlang choked up a little and said, "Don't say these frustrating words, you will all be fine!" ”

Yes, Zhu Youlang doesn't even know the names of these veterans. These heroes who were born and died for the Ming Dynasty are worth remembering!

It was getting dark, and according to Zhang Zhuguo, it was best to rush to the mound in front to rest.

This is one of the few clearings in this swamp that can be used for camping.

As someone who has lived in this generation for decades, Zhang Guozhu's words are obviously the truth.

Zhu Youlang then ordered the whole army to speed up and rush to the iconic mound before it was completely dark.

Fortunately, after the initial section, the trail became wider and wider, and later it could accommodate several rows in parallel, and the marching speed of the Ming army was also greatly improved.

I heard Zhang Zhuguo say that there are many such swamps in the south of Huguang, and in addition to the swamps that will trap people and horses, the most dangerous thing is miasma.

Zhu Youlang has a deep understanding of this.

There is a lot of miasma in Yunnan and Sichuan, and the soldiers must use special wooden sticks to block their noses and hold their breath so as not to pass out.

The Ming army still has a lot of experience in this regard.

Finally, when it was dark, the Ming army reached the mound.

According to Zhang Zhuguo's suggestion, the Ming army was stationed in separate camps, and the Huben army was a separate camp, and Zhu Youlang lived alone in the big tent of the Chinese army.

hurriedly used some dry food, and Zhu Youlang was ready to rest.

But he couldn't sleep at all after he lay down, and his mind was full of the figures of the veterans.

They must have been desperate in their hearts during the bloody battle of the Hunhe River, right?

Why didn't the imperial court send reinforcements to rescue them? Are they regarded as outcasts by the imperial court?

At that moment, the anger in their hearts may not have been just against the Qing army.

Zhu Youlang is also gradually reflecting on himself, whether there should be some maintenance obligations for these veterans.

Not only these Hunhe veterans, but also the Tiger Ben Army will face the same problem in the future.

After all, not every soldier can find a daughter-in-law, and maybe being a soldier and fighting will also lead to hidden diseases.

These uncertainties will directly affect their happiness in the second half of their lives.

Some veterans even fought directly until they were fifty or sixty years old, and they were alone and had nothing to rely on.

When they were young, they could rely on the court's money, but what should they do when they are old?

The court should also raise them!

It was Zhu Youlang who decided to implement the retirement system and pension system at an appropriate time, so that these soldiers would have no worries when serving the country and could devote themselves wholeheartedly to killing the enemy.

The bloody battle of the Hunhe River was a tragedy and regret, but it also woke up countless sleeping Ming people.

The so-called I recommend Xuanyuan with my blood, this is basically the truth.

But Zhu Youlang didn't want the bloody battle of the Hunhe River to be staged again.

One such tragic battle is enough.

There is no doubt that the appearance of Youyang veterans has given Zhu Youlang and the entire Ming army a shot in the arm.

The inheritance of the Ming army was divided and blocked.

Now these veterans connect the breakpoints and tell the recruits about the glory of being a Ming soldier. It doesn't get much more exciting than that.

War is never about oneself, but about saving future generations from the suffering of their ancestors. It can make them happy and enjoy the life of normal people.

And to achieve this, it was necessary to overthrow the Manchu tyranny.

There will certainly be death in the process, but Daming will not forget the dead soldiers, and their names will be immortalized in the Martyrs' Shrine!