Hua Mulan pressed Zhao Junsheng's hand to draw the knife: "Brother Junsheng, what are you going to do?" It's already happened, what's the use of you killing him now? We have to find a way to transport the grain back to the Jinling camp! ”

Zhao Junsheng suppressed his anger and inserted the half-unsheathed long knife back into the sheath.

Hua Mulan let go of Zhao Junsheng's hand and asked the head of the horseman: "Is there a way for the mules, horses and donkeys to pull the cart as soon as possible?" ”

The horseman shook his head with a sad head: "Looking at the appearance of these animals, nine times out of ten it should be because of eating croton, but the feed we carry does not have croton at all, there is no good way, we can only wait for them to empty their stomachs, feed them more water, and they should be able to recover faster!" ”

"How soon will it take to get back to normal?"

"This is not good, if you eat less, you will be able to recover tomorrow, but if you eat too much, I am afraid that it will take two days!"

When Mulan heard this, her heart was half cold.

"Brother Junsheng, how is this good?"

Zhao Junsheng walked back and forth holding the hilt of the knife with a gloomy face, he stopped and looked up at the sky, there was no snow, but the sky was still gloomy, and then looked at the ground, the snow was submerged in his ankles, he turned his head and shouted: "Li Bao, pass on the order of Captain Ben, let all the people in the first battalion and all the strong men and laborers quickly assemble and stand by after breakfast!" ”

"Yes!" Li Bao hugged his fists and turned to leave.

Zhao Junsheng stretched out his hand and pulled the head of the groom over and shouted: "You listen to Captain Pontus, now take your people and the carpenters in the army to prepare three hundred wooden poles, the same length as the flat pole, to be able to bear the weight, go quickly!" ”

"Yes, yes, yes!" The groom hastily agreed, and his grooms and carpenters brought their axes and saws to cut down the trees.

Hua Mulan saw them go away and walked to Zhao Junsheng: "Brother Junsheng, what do you want to do?" ”

"What else can be done? You can only use people to lift, use people to back, and use people to pick! If you look at the snow on the ground, even if the livestock can pull the cart, the march is turtle speed! I have thought about it, General Wan took out the food from my baggage camp should allow the garrison to survive today, I decided to leave the third battalion and wait for the livestock to recover their strength before going on the road, I personally took the first battalion soldiers and three hundred strong men to labor, two people carried a sack of grain, as long as we no longer encounter snowstorms and heavy rain, if we go fast we should be able to return to the Jinling camp before dark tomorrow! ”

Hua Mulan thought carefully about Zhao Junsheng's plan, thinking that with the current situation, this method can only be used, but if there is bad weather, such as a snowstorm, the whole team will be very dangerous, but even if there is a huge risk, you must take this risk, otherwise once the garrison army mutinies due to lack of food, the consequences will be unimaginable!

"Looks like that's all there is to do!"

After breakfast, the three hundred wooden poles were ready, and the soldiers of the first battalion and the strong men, a total of 600 people, were all assembled, and each formed a phalanx.

Zhao Junsheng rode his horse to the phalanx, he lifted his cloak and held the hilt of his sword, his eyes swept over the faces of the soldiers and strong laborers.

"Brothers, I will tell you a bad news, the mules, horses and donkeys pulling the cart had a bad stomach yesterday night, and they were so busy that they couldn't pull the cart at all, but the brothers of the Jinling camp are still waiting for us to escort the grain and grass back, and the grain and grass in the Jinling camp have been exhausted, if we can't transport the grain back before dusk tomorrow, the brothers of the garrison army are afraid that they will mutinier due to lack of food and hunger, and we have delayed the time to transport the grain, once the camp has an accident, all of us will be held accountable!"

"I don't want to die yet, I'm sure you don't want to die either, if you want to live, now our only way is to carry the grain back, now in this weather and road conditions, it is much faster to carry the grain with people than to pull the cart, we have a total of 600 people here, with 50 people to carry the blankets and tents for the cold, and the remaining 550 people every two people in a group of two people to carry the grain with wooden poles and ropes, and then everyone will receive two days of dry food to prepare for the road!"

"Brothers of the first battalion, let's eat in a pot, wear a battle uniform, huddle in a camp tent to keep warm, fight back to back on the battlefield against the enemy, we share weal and woe together, life and death together, now is the time for us to work together to tide over the difficulties, whoever at this time ignores the life and death of other brothers and steals and tries to escape, will be dealt with by military law, and will not be merciful!"

"Recruited strong brothers, although you are working with money, it is not easy to follow us in such bad weather to suffer from wind and frost, cold and starvation! Bendu Lieutenant wants to thank you, before Bendu Lieutenant promised you a daily salary of 50 yuan, from today onwards, the daily wage rises to 80 yuan, Bendu Lieutenant with the head of the item as a guarantee, as long as it is sent to the Jinling camp, it will be cashed immediately, and there will be no arrears, if you break the promise, you can sue the general of the Zhenshu army Wan and let him cut off my head! ”

Zhao Junsheng's gaze swept over everyone's faces, and he shouted again: "This place is still one hundred and twenty miles away from the Jinling camp, and Captain Bendu now asks, do you have the confidence to carry the grain back to the destination before dusk tomorrow with Captain Bendu?" ”

The cold wind was howling, Zhao Junsheng's voice spread in the wind, everyone looked at him excitedly, and no one present spoke.

Suddenly, someone among the strong men shouted loudly: "The magnates regard me as pigs and dogs, and the captains regard us as brothers. ”

The soldiers of the first battalion responded loudly: "I will swear to follow the captain!" ”

"Swear to follow the Captain!" The soldiers raised their spears and shouted in unison.

"Good! Where is Pei Jin? ”

Pei Jin trotted over and responded: "The subordinates are here!" ”

"Give the first battalion and the Zhuangding brothers a piece of tarpaulin to block the wind and rain, and a pair of thanksgiving shoes! Take everyone to the dormitory to get two days of dry food and get ready to go! ”

"Yes! First Battalion and Zhuangding brothers, follow me! Pei Jin agreed, beckoned to everyone, and led them to collect supplies and dry food.

Xue Andu, the acting deputy lieutenant of the third battalion standing on the side of Zhao Junsheng, called over and ordered: "You also heard what the lieutenant said just now, the third battalion and the horse convoy and other personnel are all left behind, and you are fully responsible, Pei Jin will stay to assist you, and when the livestock recovers their strength, they will immediately go on the road, and they must not be delayed, the matter of grain and grass is related to the life and death of the garrison army, and it is also related to the life and death of all our baggage soldiers, you must not be taken lightly, otherwise military law will be engaged!" ”

"Also, the livestock have diarrhea collectively, this thing is unusual, you must not startle the snake, keep an eye on everyone along the way, you can't let anyone fall behind, everything will be transported back to the Jinling camp and then do the plan!"

Xue Andu clenched his fists and agreed: "Don't worry, your subordinates can save it!" ”

Zhao Junsheng turned to look at Mulan, "Mulan, I'll lead the team first, you ······ Let's go with the men of the 3rd Battalion and wait for the livestock to regain their strength before hitting the road! ”