Because of the rain and snow blocking the road, the group rested in Mazhixia Village that night. Shang Cheng originally planned to rush to his command post in Zhongzhai early the next morning, but that night he lay in the upper room arranged for him by his subordinates, and was slightly drunk and heard the wind outside howling with rain and snow for a whole night, so he expected that this plan would not work. The next day, the rooster in the village woke him up, and before he opened his eyes, he heard the sound of water ticking under the eaves outside the house, and when he put on a cotton robe and went out to see, the sky was low and cloudy outside, and it was dark everywhere, and the hunting north wind was wrapped in the winter rain, and the roof and the ground were brushed.

He pressed the cotton robe with one hand, stretched out the other hand to test the rain, and in a moment more than a dozen raindrops had been smashed on the palm of his hand, and the slightest coolness spread from the palm of his hand, and as soon as the wind blew, he felt a cold air rushing down his arm to the top of his head, and in the blink of an eye, all the limbs and bones had a feeling of penetrating bone marrow, and he couldn't help but shudder. He withdrew his hand and rubbed his face vigorously, driving away the ignorance and confusion that woke up in the morning, stretched his waist with his arms outstretched, and let out a long whistle, feeling relaxed and refreshed.

He stuffed the robe on the windowsill twice, twisted his waist a few times left and right under the eaves, clenched his fists with both hands, his left arm was half stretched and his right fist pressed his cheeks, one foot was half bent in front of him and one foot in the back, his waist was hunched on the ground twice, his upper body shook three or four times in a row, his left fist swung and his right leg kicked violently on the ground, and by the moment of the strength of his feet and legs, his right fist swept over and smashed his fist on the pillar of the eaves, making a bang; The dust on the eaves, the broken grass, and the fine debris fell on him.

He himself was also startled by this movement, and quickly helped the pillar, and when he looked up and squinted his eyes to check the eaves, he heard someone shouting behind him: "My lord is so strong! Good skills! ”

He turned his head, and it was Jin Xi, the head of the border army in Xiazhai, and Qian Laosan, the second sentinel, who spoke, Bao Kan was holding a wooden pot and pottery bowl in his hand, and Sun Zhongshan followed behind, so he let go of his hand, rubbed the ashes on the knuckles of his palm, shook his head and said: "What a good skill, you can only watch a lively show." He looked at Jin Xi's complexion, greeted Qian Laosan with his eyes, turned his face and smiled at Jin Xi, "Lao Jin, you are the real skill." Yiyi drank so much last night that he couldn't find the door, and he was able to get up with just a little light this day, and his steps were still walking so steadily, how did he practice? As he spoke, he took his cotton robe from Sun Zhongshan's hand and shook it open to wear it. They all went into the house and sat and talked. So he rolled up his sleeves and rinsed his mouth and washed his face in front of the rain steps.

Jin Xi and the three of them didn't enter the house, standing aside to talk to him, Jin Xi said, "My lord is too humble." I'm afraid that fist just now can have five stone strength......"

Qian Laosan looked at the upper and lower tenons of the lower pillar, pushed the eaves pillar hard, and punched himself, compared, wrinkled his brows and said: "It's not just five stones, I'm afraid there are seven stones." ”

Jin Xi said that it was five stones, which originally meant some flattery to Shang Cheng, and when he heard his old partner say that the strength of Shang Cheng's punch was actually seven stones, he couldn't help but be a little speechless, and stared at Shang Cheng for a long time with his eyes puffed up, and muttered in his mouth: "No wonder, no wonder!" Sun Whistle said that the monk killed two tigers with his bare hands in Yi County, I still don't believe it, but now I believe that one by one suffered from the severity, and the story in the singing book is actually true! ”

Jin Xi was a little distracted, and he lost his respect for his boss when he spoke, Qian Laosan quickly picked up the conversation and said, "Of course it's true!" Otherwise, how could the adults be able to kill the three great sams of the people in a burst of power? How could it be possible to be a lieutenant in Germany in the first war and awarded two acres of Xuntian? Three big sama, three gold medals, this is the first time since we built Yanshan! With such courage as an adult, it is a matter of time before he becomes a brigade commander and a military commander......"

"How is the brigade commander and the military Sima? With such an ability as an adult, it is not difficult to bow to the general! ”

The two of them touted the stammering with half-truths and half-truths, Shang Cheng didn't talk to each other, washed up for a while, splashed the leftover water in the wooden basin, handed the basins and bowls to Bao Kan, and said "It's warm in the house to go in and talk", and asked Sun Zhongshan to prepare pen and ink, so he went into the house first.

The three sentinels and the second whistle all followed him in, each moved a stool and sat on the side of the kang, taking advantage of the time when Shang Cheng was drinking rice soup and nibbling cakes, several people talked and laughed a few words, and saw Shang Cheng eat and drink and wipe his mouth and sit in the center of the kang table, and the three of them stopped. Sun Zhongshan had an errand, sat cross-legged at the kang table, and spread the pen and ink on the table; Jin Xiqian moved the stool to the side of the kang, and waited intently for Shang Cheng to speak.

Seeing that the three officers who had been in the border army for many years were all respectful to themselves, Shang Cheng was also a little proud in his heart. In the military, one talks about seniority and two talks about military exploits, in addition to this, what is the level of status, the size of the background is a lie, there is an identity and a background, at most you can only teach people to give you three points, even if others respect and respect you, it is just a superficial article, all can not be taken seriously. He has only been a soldier for half a year, and his qualifications are not at all, and the rank of lieutenant of Guide and the command of the battalion lieutenant Ma Zhi can only be used in the official face, but the three sentry commanders sat in front of him, all of them looked awe-inspiring and cautious, obviously not looking at his rank and position but on his military exploits......

This is the battle merit he paid for with his life.

He pursed his lips and slowly stroked the scars on his cheeks, restrained some wandering thoughts, and picked his lips and smiled: "Don't be so restrained, it's not about any important tasks in the army, just talking about some miscellaneous things." I brought back forty military horses from Yanzhou this time, and received the grain and straw in Beizheng for half a month, and I originally thought that after arriving in Zhongzhai, I would gather the sentinels of the four posts to meet, get to know each other and get acquainted with each other, and discuss how to adjust these grain and horses by the way. Since he was stranded in Xiazhai by God's wind and rain, let's discuss with the two of you how to distribute these things first. After all, the time he really received the ministry was still short, and dealing with these ordinary affairs was completely different from commanding a war to destroy the city and uproot, almost a little experience, so there was no sense of order in his tone, but a tone of discussion.

Jin Xi and Qian Laosan glanced at each other, bowed on the stool and said, "Thank you for your love." ”

Shang Cheng waved his hand absently and said, "Don't be so polite." Tell me, what do you think of these horses, grain and grass? ”

Jin Xi groaned and said: "My lord doesn't know, this matter has always had a routine to follow in our Mazhi Xizhai......"

Shang Chengdao: "I know that convention, isn't 'two-five-three'?" The upper village takes two percent, the middle village takes fifty percent, and the lower village takes three percent? Seeing Jin Xi nodded, he continued, "Now I want to change it." There is a sentry and a half people in Shangzhai, a total of 157 soldiers, and it is too harsh to take 20% of the grain; This winter came early and the weather was cold, and once the heavy snow blocked the roads, it is likely that the food in Shangzhai will not be able to be helped. I thought," he said, raising his eyelids, his blazing gaze swirling over the faces of the three officers one by one, "I want to transport all the grain and straw to Shangzhai this time." There are still grain stocks in both Zhongzhai and Xiazhai, which can cope with a few days. The commander of the Beizheng Border Army has promised me that the next batch of grain will be delivered before the end of the month. In addition, if you don't leave this batch of military horses, I will take them away, twenty-five horses will be transferred to the village, and the rest will be pulled to the middle village. ”

Jin Xin instigated his lips and was silent for a long time before he said faintly: "My lord wants to leave more food for Shangzhai, I don't object to this, but my lord may not know that the army along the border forts and outposts cannot store food for more than fifteen days, which is an old rule for more than 100 years......"

"In the fourth year of the Eastern Common Era, the Ministry of War issued a document, specifically mentioning that each border village can store grain for 60 days on a special basis." Shang Cheng cut off his words and said. He had already inquired about these things with Sun Zhongshan, so he knew about this document. "In the case of Shangzhai, it is a special case. Moreover, Shangzhai also has jurisdiction over six beacon towers, and these places need to store enough grain and firewood. I don't give you horses, just to allocate a few more horses to Shangzhai, and strive to send grain, salt, croton oil, and clothes and bedding before the heavy snow closes the road. ”

Jin Xi was silent. Qian Laosan, the second whistle, said beside him: "My lord, there are more than 40 horses in the war horses in Xiazhai, so the horses are not divided into us, and we have nothing to say." But there is no distribution of food...... You also know that being a soldier is just to eat food one by one, and if there is not enough food in the stockpile, the situation can spread in half a day, and the people's hearts are in chaos, and we can't control it......"

Shang Cheng said: "The Yamen of the Border Army Command Department has repeatedly promised that the next batch of grain will be sent before the end of the month, and I will definitely make up for you at that time." ”

Jin Xi said worriedly: "Lord Shang, you can't take seriously what the commander of the Yamen said. How many times did they not pat their chests and promise this and that, but how many times could they do it? Last year's winter clothes have not been completed, and there are still 100 brothers in our battalion wearing the padded jackets issued the year before last. ”

Shang Cheng couldn't help but feel sad when he heard Jin Xi's words, looking at Jin Xi's anxious eyes and worried look, Qian Laosan also gritted his teeth and kept silent, it didn't seem to be lying, and he felt a little uncomfortable. He knew that the treatment of the border army was low, but he didn't expect it to be so low that he didn't even have a padded jacket for the winter...... He glanced at Sun Zhongshan, who had been silent next to him, one by one, could it be that the border army in Ruqizhai was also suffering like this? Impossible. He has seen with his own eyes the bravery of Ruqi's border army, and it is not too much to say that everyone dares to fight to the death, so how does Ruqizhai maintain morale? Is it just five people and three jackets?

Sun Zhongshan whispered: "If it is an important town, and it is also the eastern gate of Yanshan, it is completely different from the situation in Mazhizhai, here are the soldiers left behind after the retrenchment, and it is not to rush to the place, and the border army will not waste energy to take care of the affairs here." ”

As he spoke, he quietly glanced at the two sentinels in Xiazhai, lowered his head to look at the yellow-black paper covered with impurities, pursed his lips and thought about it, as if he was weighing what he was about to say, and raised his head in a blink of an eye and asked Jin Xidao: "Jin Whistle, I heard that Yiyi just heard that the market towns and villagers here in Mazhi are going to give money and grain to the military village, what is it called 'Winter Lingjin', is there no one in Xiazhai?" ”

Shang Cheng had never heard of any "Winter Advance", and he was surprised in his heart, and his dark eyes immediately stared at Jin Xi and Qian Laosan without blinking, waiting for them to answer and explain.