In the sixth year of Light and Harmony (183 A.D.), one morning in the middle of December.

A ragged boy of about fifteen or sixteen years old came to the makeshift recruiting office in Northland County.

"This is where the Emperor Fu Taishou recruits?"

Everyone looked for prestige, and saw that he was more than seven feet old, wearing a brown hemp pleat, hemp hakama, and no crown on his head, but wearing an extremely shabby rotten hat, but there was a three-point heroic spirit hidden between his eyebrows, which did not match his age.

"There are orders that are too observed, and those who are not weak are not allowed to join the army." The officer in charge of transcribing the list glanced at it, and then shouted.

The young man didn't care, he picked up the hat casually, then bent down to put down the burden, took a piece of cyan rag from it and wrapped it around his head a few times, got up and said with a smile: "Today is my twentieth birthday, so I will be crowned, and your brothers will be a witness, so can you kill the enemy in the army?" ”

"Crowning and relieving, it's such a child's play." The officer in charge of transcribing raised his head slightly, and said with a contemptuous smile: "What else do you say to go into battle to kill the enemy, little boy, you are not ashamed to speak up, can you pass the army?" ”

The young man bowed and said: "I once guarded the Huns in Gaoping County, Anding County, and Zhang Zhonglang was a believer. ”

The military official snorted coldly: "Zhang Zhonglang of Gaoping County? Is it the Zhang Xiu who killed the Huns Shan Yu three years ago and drove into Luo? ”

The young man was silent, as if he was dissatisfied with the officer's words.

The military official didn't care either, and continued to ask: "If your relatives and friends at home know about your reckless behavior, you can look good, don't toss around here, go home early!" ”

"Homeless." The boy said calmly.

"What do you mean?"

"My parents died early, so I only had one brother, and I died of illness before the epidemic."

The soldier's expression moved slightly, and he asked, "What is your name and where are you from?" ”

"Yang Gu, twenty, from Gaoping County, Anding County."

Originally from the Hun Zhonglang who drove Zhang Xiu into Luo, after sitting in prison, considering that the current Qianghu Xiongnu Shan Yu did not have the rampant rebellion of the Hu Zheng, and after Zhang Xiu's battle, although the western Xianbei won, but the troops were also damaged, knowing the determination of the Han Dynasty, there was naturally little friction with the Qianghu Xiongnu and the Han Dynasty. Since this is the case, the Han center did not send people to Gaoping County to be the general of the Huns, and the army of Gaoping County itself was immediately disbanded.

As for Yangchuan Yanggu, it was because of the border war, the destruction of the fields, and the destruction of the family, since Gaoping County no longer formed an army, and the two brothers were homeless, so they had to go east to this Beidi County to find an errand. The journey is difficult, the two brothers have no food, they hunt some animals when they are hungry, and when they are thirsty, they drink two sips of muddy water on the side of the road.

However, this Yanggu still has some destiny, dragged the sick body, found a field, hastily took care of his brother's funeral, and then traveled for several days, this sick body was inexplicably self-healing, in the end, the hard work paid off, and finally arrived at the site of this northern county in a few days.

The transcription officer froze for a moment, looked up at the young man in front of him, and finally asked, "Why did you join the army?" ”

Yang Gu didn't grind, and said calmly: "For survival." ”

This answer was unexpected, and the military officer laughed on the spot: "I have rarely heard that joining the army is to survive? You kid has only been a believer, but you know that most of the battlefield battles are dead and lifeless, so how can you talk about life? ”

Yang Gu said: "If you join the army, you will have food to eat, and if you don't join the army, you will starve to death." ”

This reason may seem absurd and funny, but it is actually a sad fact. Especially on the Northland border. In fact, at this time, the Mintun in these places is almost invisible, one is because of the land annexation of the common people by Haoqiang, and the other is because the population has decreased sharply due to the war, that is, there is good land, and there are almost no people to cultivate, so the food supply of the army in the north is mostly by the army.

The military tun and the military officials independently tun the fields, and the grain and production obtained naturally belong to the army, and there is no need to pay taxes, and it can even be said that the dietary conditions and needs of the military officials at that time were much better than those of the peasants.

Therefore, if a young man like Yang Gu wants to have something to eat and live, there are only two ways to choose, one is to choose a place to be strong and strong, as a domestic servant, and the other is to find the right time to join the army, and it is best to be a standing army like the fifth school in the north.

And the difference between the two is actually obvious. Although it seems that in the short term, at least you can have food and live without fighting hard, but it is difficult to be promoted, and you will be a vain for the rest of your life. And although joining the army is dangerous, the sword has no eyes, and there are many worries about life, but if you are lucky enough to save some military merits, you can not only fill your stomach but also be promoted and make a fortune.

As another person who has crossed through in this era, Yang Gu knows very well and understands that although it seems difficult to become a disciple of the wealthy clan in the future, once he participates in the war in the future, he will actually be even more involuntarily, for him, there is actually no choice in front of him, if he wants to live for a long time and stability, he can only join the army.

However, it is obviously impossible to trek through mountains and rivers and cross states and counties to find Cao Cao, Liu Bei, and Sun Jian. So at this point in time, in December of the sixth year of Guanghe (183 AD), there is only one candidate for this place in Yongzhou, that is, Beidi Taishou, Huangfu Song.

Yang Gu knows very well that in February next year, that is, in 184, the famous year of Jiazi in history, the Yellow Turban Rebellion will officially break out.

This is a great opportunity for Yang Gu, because it is not Xianbei or Xiongnu who have to face, but the Yellow Turban Thieves composed of peasants! Although the equipment of the Northland Zahu nomadic cavalry is not good, its personal combat effectiveness cannot be ignored, but what is the Yellow Turban Thief? Even a peasant who has never even killed a pig can pick up a knife and kill?

For such an "enemy", Yang Gu is very confident, he is probably the only person in the current Han world who has undefeated confidence, as for the other, that is, the high-ranking prince Liu Wei in Luoyang City.

It's just that Liu Wei's confidence comes from historical data, Lu Zhi, Huangfu Song, Zhu Jun, no matter which one of them is a famous general in the world, and he has experienced a hundred battles, and some have experience in suppressing uprisings, so Zhang Jiao is naturally not a problem. Yang Gu's confidence is more practical, because he is the son of a farmer, and he has lived with these farmers for several years in this Han world, and he really knows these farmers too well.

Yang Gu calmly took out two things from the carrying package, a ring-headed knife, a slightly rusty iron armor, only to see it to transcribe the military officer and said slowly: "This knife and this armor are my brother's things, I hold this knife on the battlefield on his day, with this armor, I will be like a brother by my side, I should fight bravely to kill the enemy, I dare not be afraid of death, the officer asked me why I joined the army, and I am my brother in addition to life." ”

"What do you mean by being your brother?"

"My brother has never seen the people living in peace, he has never seen the people of Wufu, he has never seen the happy faces of the cold soldiers, and he has never seen the peace of the world. I want to see peace and prosperity for my brother. Yang Gu thought about it like this, but it was difficult to tell it like this, pondered for a while, and finally said: "In order to inherit my brother's ambition, I will serve the country by fighting horses." ”

When the transcription officer heard this, he praised it very much, and then said: "In this way, and when you enter the camp, I hope that what you will do in the future will live up to your words today, and not to your brother." ”

Yang Gu was inexplicably sad and happy, and in addition to being generous, he went away with his sword and armor.