The banquet for Captain Zhao to wash the dust and welcome the arrival of 100 gunners was held in the newly built White Tiger Hall. This White Tiger Hall is the place where the meeting and deliberations in the summer military camp are located. Decades-old timber framed with pillars buried deep in the earth, half-foot-high earth piled up along the corners of the walls to prevent them from being blown down by strong winds, and then built into four walls with thick planks, the roof was a herringbone spire covered with thick birch bark to protect it from heavy snowfall. In the Sanyin Village, which is surrounded by ground nests and straw sheds, the meeting hall that can accommodate thousands of people to gather is particularly majestic, and the people have a sense of awe for it similar to the official yamen.

Under the tall roof, gunner centurion Liu Zhijian and Gao Su sat upright, waiting for Zhao Xingde's arrival without squinting. A hundred gunners sat cross-legged behind two centurions, habitually lined up in a neat phalanx. The artillery trained by Zhao Xingde with three drill codes can be said to be incomparable in the world. Tang Qiyong, Cha Shen and several other centurions who commanded the infantry and cavalry chatted loudly about the old things since the expedition to Liaodong, especially the battle against the Khitan village a few months ago, hundreds of sergeants sat or stood, chatting and squinting at the opposite side.

The sergeants were seated in a team of ten, and in front of the table were stewed meat soup with wild vegetables, roasted meat, and candied fruits from the Western Regions, which were rarely seen in recent times. After the supplies from the sea arrived, the grain and grass of the 8th battalion of Chengying were much more abundant, and although they were usually thrifty, they could occasionally open meat. Tonight, the sergeant ate meat, and the people added an extra steamed bun.

The artillery hundred-man team was trained by Zhao Xingde himself, and it stands to reason that they are the descendants of the captain, but they followed the artillery with the sea ships. On the contrary, the other 700 infantry sergeants followed Captain Zhao to march through the desert Gobi, sharing joys and sorrows, as if they were first come, first served. Although the people on both sides come from the same source, the happy feast and drink exudes a subtle atmosphere.

In addition to more than 100 sergeants on duty outside, the people in Sanyin Village are honestly staying in their own nests, and only a few who are trusted and have flexible hands and feet are fortunate to enter the White Tiger Hall to serve food and pour wine for the sergeants. The smell of meat and vegetables penetrated into her nostrils, and Zhang Gouwa swallowed her saliva, but she could not only hold the three-liter clay wine jar with both hands, and stand straight against the wall.

As more and more people came to Sanyin Village, they gradually distinguished between 369 and so on, and those who were close to the soldiers of the Xia State took on various functions, and also held large and small powers in their hands, and felt superior to others. And these people, the sergeants, but if there is anything, some of them greet the past, and some do not wait to greet them, they run back and forth very attentively, and even the sergeant's clothes, shoes and socks are taken back to be washed.

This kind of service to people, waiting for idlers has not yet got this opportunity. Zhang Gouwa didn't covet anything else, she just wanted to join the army and kill the Khitans. He was originally an honest and dutiful farmer, his family was killed by the Khitan household in the village, he took advantage of the Khitan household to sleep, climbed in from the dog hole, cut off the enemy's head with a sickle, fled into the mountains alone, and ended up in Sanyin Village, because of this past, he got the nickname of Zhang Sickle. There was a shout from the front of the White Tiger Hall, "The captain has arrived!" Hundreds of sergeants stood up together, and the hall fell silent. Zhang Gouwa was excited, with her legs together, standing straight according to the military posture observed these days, and looking in the direction of the door energetically.

A moment later, Zhao Xingde appeared at the door with Kim Chang-tae and Li Sihai. "Salute!" Hundreds of sergeants saluted together, and Zhao Xingde smiled and returned the military salute. "Rite over!" The atmosphere in the hall has regained its lively and peaceful atmosphere.

Zhao Xingde has always been very kind to his subordinates, he smiled and looked left and right, up and down the eighth battalion of Chengying, from centurion, to ten, to ordinary sergeants, he not only called each of them, but also understood their temperament and family affairs. He smiled beside him and said, "A few months ago, there was not even a frame, but now such a magnificent hall has been built, all of which are the work of Jin Sima. Jin Chang Taeqian said: "It's all according to the drawings, and the people are working hard to build, I'm just planning and supervising." Zhao Xingde smiled and nodded, his eyes turned to Gao Su and Liu Zhijian, who were sitting on the left side of the hall, and walked over quickly.

Seeing the captain coming, the gunners who had been away for a long time were a little excited, and they put down their cups and plates one after another and stood up. thinks he is familiar with Zhao Xingde, "Lord Zhao." "Captain." The voices of greeting sounded one after another, and this was all the relationship between superiors and subordinates practiced by the three regulations. At this time, I am afraid that many people still remember the nickname of "evil ghost" in their hearts.

Liu Zhijian and Gao Su stood side by side, both of them were senior centurions before joining the artillery battalion. The two are comparable in knowledge, and they also have miscellaneous studies such as surveying and mapping geometry in the sky, so they entered the artillery camp. Gao Su's body is slightly fat, but Liu Zhijian is thin, but the temperament of the two is similar, and they have become friends after getting along on the sea boat for a few months. Although they admired Zhao Xingde's personality and ability, their eyes were much calmer than ordinary sergeants.

Zhao Xingde smiled as he walked and nodded to the sergeants who were greeting him from all sides, came to the two centurions, stood still and said in a deep voice: "The sea road is bumpy and dangerous, brothers have worked hard. Gao Su arched his hand and said: "The captain praises falsely." Liu Zhijian smiled and said: "It's time to arrive." ”

Zhao Xingde nodded and smiled: "I heard that you have practiced several test launches at sea, and you almost broke up other people's sea ships." Behind him, Li Sihai had a wry smile on his face, and lowered his voice and said: "I also wrote to protect the national government for this, and in the future, the sea ships equipped with artillery must be built more robustly." Good wood in the south is too expensive, but it is still cost-effective oak wood in Liaodong. Anyway, you have so many people available here. If the Ordnance Division wants to lower the price indiscriminately, don't pay attention to them. ”

In the sergeant's chaotic answers, Li Sihai's voice was only audible to Zhao Xingde and Kim Changtae. Gao Su and Liu Zhijian saw him and Captain Zhao talking in a low voice, but they only said that this Captain Li had a strange personality, and the military discipline of the artillery hundred-man team was second to none in the whole army, and they were not worried about him saying anything strange.

After Zhao Xingde exchanged pleasantries here for a while, he sat cross-legged on the main seat. When it was rare for the Eighth Battalion to have such a neat dinner, Li Sihai observed the various hundred-man teams with great interest. Jin Changtai looked to the side, and Zhang Gouwa hurriedly walked over and poured wine for the three adults. In order to prevent the morale of the army from being shaken, it was strictly forbidden to carry prostitutes and maids in the barracks, so the people who were busy pouring wine and serving food during the banquet were Ding Zhuang selected from among the people.

Seeing that it was a man who poured the wine, Zhao Xingde frowned slightly. Zhang Gouwa poured the drinks one by one and was about to retreat aside. Zhao Xingde stretched out his hand to stop him and asked, "What's your name?" Zhang Gouwa was stunned for a moment, and then replied: "The villain's surname is Zhang, and the villagers call me Zhang Sickle." He originally had a nickname for a dog baby, but at this time, he was afraid that Shangguan would look down on him, so he reported the nickname of Zhang Sickle, which was also a little scheming.

Zhao Xingde smiled and said to Jin Changtai beside him: "This name has some meaning. ”

Jin Changtai said with a smile: "This person killed the Khitan village tyrant with a sickle, so he got this name." Because of Zhang Gouwa's experience, Kim Chang-tae had some impression of him among tens of thousands of people. He roughly guessed Zhang Gouwa's heart, so he didn't say his real name.

Many ordinary people in this world don't have serious names, Zhao Xingde didn't care, he held a wine glass, and asked with a smile: "Zhang sickle, you come here to do things, how much is the pay?" ”

Zhang Sickle didn't know the depth, and hurriedly waved his hand and said: "How dare the villain ask for remuneration for doing things for the military masters." He looked at Zhao Xingde with sincere eyes, and his heart was surprised and nervous, "The opportunity is rare, do you want to ask the adults to let me join the army?" "When an adult asks, just answer, how can you open your mouth to plead, annoy the adult, and drive you out." When his heart was entangled and contradictory, his eyebrows were twisted, his face was cloudy, and he couldn't say anything else for a while.

Zhao Xingde stopped drinking and sighed in a low voice: "I have decreed that the sergeant shall not serve without reason, Jin Sima, I think, it is better to give these people a fair reward." ”

A centurion next to him said: "These Liaodong Han'er are not serious households, this kind of law seems to be not quoted here." "In the Xia Kingdom, the people have the protectors to rely on, and they themselves know what their own interests are. And in the cottage far away from the emperor of the mountain, the people of the Han Dynasty in Liaodong only serve the sergeants as officials, although Jin Changtai selected a group of protectors, but these protectors are not familiar with the rules of the Xia Kingdom at all, who can say a word about this, speaking of which, can be seen by the sergeants, singled out to do something, and when they return to the people, they are still a little arrogant. And the sergeants were glad to be served, and in a few months the people became accustomed to such service.

Zhao Xingde put the wine glass on the ground and said in a deep voice: "I want to dominate the world, if I can't treat the people of the world well and treat the people of Longyou in Guanzhong equally, then what is the difference between it and the Jurchens and Khitans!" The tone of his words was very serious, and the centurion also kept silent with interest, the lieutenant had always been kind and generous, and his subordinates argued with him, and he did not think it was resentful, and did not threaten revenge afterwards, but when it came to the problems he insisted on, his temper was indeed a little stinky and hard.

Kim Chang-tae explained: "Captain Zhao, this is my negligence, in the future, I should clearly order all the troops to act in accordance with the rules of the country, and not to serve the people at will." At this time, the surrounding sergeants looked over one after another, and Zhang Gouwa realized that something was wrong with the atmosphere, and thought that he was not dealing with it, and he was even more nervous when he froze there.

Zhao Xingde nodded and said slowly: "The people are all raised by their parents, they were only born in the land of Liaodong, and there are many ups and downs, which does not mean that they are more inferior than the people of the Central Plains." I heard that the founding emperor raised troops in Hedong, first won Lingzhou Longyou, and then took Guanzhong Bashu, to establish a foundation, if the soldiers at that time regarded the people who were attached to them like slaves, and you are still today? Quite a few people bowed their heads. Even if their hometowns are in the rivers or the Western Regions, most of the Xia people moved out of Guanzhong and Bashu, and if the soldiers were like slaves and maids at the beginning, I am afraid that many of the ancestors here would have suffered a lot. At this time, Li Sihai's eyes looking at Zhao Xingde also became solemn.