In the evening, the sunset is weaving. In the willow forest of the Hibiscus Garden, there is a magnificent scene.

Xiao, the wife of Hedong, handed over Xue Shao's letter to Princess Taiping.

Princess Taiping took a look at the letter, and after reading it, she folded the letter with a slight smile, and said: "Sister-in-law, don't worry, Xue Lang will be able to return safely as scheduled, I heard that my brother will leave Beijing soon." During the time that the two of them were not in Chang'an, the sister-in-law had any undecided matters, but she came to me. ”

"......" Xiao Shi was a little stunned, he had prepared a bunch of comforting words to say to Princess Taiping, but I didn't expect her to comfort me instead? My husband left me in Chang'an, just to let me guard the door and preside over the affairs of the Xue family. In this way, Princess Taiping, who is only sixteen years old, also has the demeanor of a housewife......

"Sister-in-law, what's wrong?" Princess Taiping took Xiao's hand and asked softly.

Xiao Shi smiled slightly, covered Princess Taiping's hands with both hands, and said, "Erlang is so blessed to be able to marry such a good wife of Her Royal Highness the Princess." This is also the blessing of the Xue family! ”

"Sister-in-law has an overreputation!" Princess Taiping smiled and said, "Sister-in-law is alone at home, you might as well come and walk around with me more." Mrs. Huayang is also an interesting person, and when we have time, we can play Shuanglu, enjoy singing and dancing, visit the lake and enjoy the scenery, or talk about poetry and music. Sister-in-law Dali is knowledgeable and talented, and I want to ask for more advice! ”

Xiao Shi listened to her call of a brother and sister-in-law, and his heart was warm, and he nodded happily: "Her Royal Highness the princess deigns to be considerate of herself, and the minister admires it!" ”

"Don't bite a mouthful of His Highness and ministers, we're a family, aren't we?"

"Yes......"

……

When Xiao and Princess Taiping were talking in the willow forest, Xue Shao was walking with Niu Ben with a donkey cart to the outside of Chang'an City.

The donkey cart was full of corn, and after leaving the city, the road was rough and the wooden wheels often got stuck in the dirt pits, and the two had to push the cart hard from time to time to get forward. It was only two miles out of the city, and both of them were already sweating profusely.

Xue Shao wiped a handful of sweat and looked up, there were endless carriages and horses before and after, and the carriages were full of military rations. On both sides of the grain team, officers and veterans on horseback watched and supervised each other, and dust flew everywhere.

"I'm starving!" Niu Ben shouted again, "The four steamed buns I ate just now are gone in a blink of an eye!" ”

Hearing him mutter, Xue Shao's stomach also growled twice. After doing this heavy physical work, I was really hungry.

"Hungry, hungry, when is it time to eat?" Niu Ben pushed the cart and kept yelling.

"Don't scream, don't scream, get hungrier!" Xue Shao scolded angrily, "You ate all four steamed buns, and you shouted a fart!" ”

Niu Ben Ha Lu Ha laughed, "White-faced, you're hungry too, aren't you?" ”

"I have a name!"

"Oh, that...... Undertake what? Niu Ben smiled and looked around, reached out and took out a handful of corn from the military ration burlap bag, and chewed vigorously in his mouth.

Xue Shao was stunned, "You also eat raw?" ”

"Do you want to take a bite, not bad!" Niu Ben's eyebrows fluttered, and he took out another handful.

Xue Shao's expression changed and he was just about to stop him, when a ride flew next to him, and a whip was drawn to Niu Ben.

"Bold!"

"What the are you doing!" Niu Ben touched his back, stared at him and turned his head to scold.

"Come on, take it!" The knight on the horse shouted angrily, "Stealing military rations and daring to insult the officer, I'm tired of living!" ”

Niu Ben was dumbfounded, it turned out to be Zhao Teamzheng.

Every forty recruits plus ten veterans are organized into a team, and Team Zhao is the top officer.

Several veterans on horseback came over and dismounted together, and as soon as the horizontal knife was pulled out and pointed at Niu Ben, Niu Ben wilted on the spot, and obediently took the hand and captured.

"Twenty lashes, beating!" Team Zhao didn't say a word and gave the order.

Several veterans pressed Niu Ben to the ground, picked up the military flap and started fighting. Niu Ben covered his head and didn't dare to scream.

The grain truck of Xue Shao and Niu Ben was pulled away from the side of the road, and the passing grain recruits were shocked to see Niu Ben being beaten.

"Listen to me! The first thing you do when you enter the army is to know the way - military orders are like mountains! Team Zhao shouted: "This person steals military rations, insults the officer, and will be punished with fifty military sticks according to the law!" Thinking of his first offense before he was lightly punished. Whoever dares to commit another crime in the future will be severely punished according to the law! ”

All the sergeants were silent, and Xue Shao didn't say anything. Team Zhao is right, and no one can refute it. Recruits need to "kill chickens and make an example of monkeys" to understand what military law is, and it can only be said that Niu Ben hit the muzzle of the gun.

Team Zhao walked up to Xue Shao after a few words and looked at him coldly, "You see that he stole military rations and didn't stop and expose it, so you should be guilty of the same crime!" ”

"Will be punished." Xue Shaozhi said that in the army, he said that he should not naively mention any human rights when he first came to the army, let alone think that there would be a good result in contradicting the officer, so he didn't say a word.

Team Zhao nodded with satisfaction, "I don't know the military law when you first came here, so you won't be punished for the time being." After entering the military camp to study military law, you must not commit it again. ”

"Xie Zhao is Zheng." Xue Shao clenched his fists.

Team Zhao looked Xue Shao up and down, "You look like a decent scholar, how could you come to join the army?" I can see the household registration and military registration. ”

"I was born in a small family, and I have studied for a few days." Xue Shao handed over Chengyu's household registration and the new household registration to Zhao Teamzheng.

"Since it's a good text, let's do it well!" Team Zhao looked at the household registration and military registration and returned the things to Xue Shao, and said, "I will pay attention to you!" ”

"Yes." Xue Shao put away his things and didn't say much.

Most of the ordinary guards in the army were poor people such as peasant households, homeless people, and slaves, and there were really not many who could read and write. It is no wonder that Team Zhao is taking the "reputation" of literacy as the object of attention.

Niu Ben finished eating twenty lashes, covered his buttocks and grinned and got up. I had no choice but to push the cart forward.

"Fortunately, I have thick skin and rough meat, and I have been beaten since I was a child, so I have nothing to do!" Niu Ben pushed the cart forward with a dirty face, but he was not embarrassed at all, he still smirked, "white face...... Oh, what is that, don't be whipped if you have fine skin and tender meat, just let your skin open the flesh! ”

"My name is Chengyu!" Xue Shao shouted with tears and laughter.

"Reputation is honor!" Niu Ben was still smiling, his eyes were still staring at the gap in the military ration burlap bag, and he swallowed his saliva, "This corn still tastes good, it's better than millet seeds!" ”

"......" Xue Shao was directly speechless, this is a live pig who is not afraid of fighting!

Later, the grain and grass of the brigade were transported into the grain camp of the right guard, Xue Shao raised his eyes before entering the camp, and the huge camp could not be seen at a glance, and in the vast smoke and dust was the boundless sea of people and chariots and horses. The grain and grass are piled up, the flags are standing like waves, and everyone is busy nervously.

Xue Shao now understands what the "Ten Soldiers and Three Husbands" in "The Mirror of the Six Armies" means. In the era of cold weapons, there were no such means of transportation as trains, truck convoys, and large ships, and it was not an easy task to transport the grain, grass, and baggage needed by the 300,000 army.

An army of 300,000 marched out, a third of whom were to be used exclusively for the transport and storage of baggage. Sometimes, the imperial court would also levy a part of the people's husbands to reduce the transportation burden of the army. However, the "labor fee" and the food and drink of the people are undoubtedly a new expense.

Therefore, this time the Northern Expedition did not levy people's husbands, but let all the recruits be responsible for escorting grain and grass.

Now in this big camp, ninety percent of the people are "recruits" like Xue Shao. Another 10 percent of the veterans served as officers and were responsible for leading the recruits. These people will carry grain and grass all the way north to the front line of the war, which is equivalent to experiencing the arduous experience of the "recruit company".

After the grain and grass were carried into the barracks, the vehicles were all neatly placed together, and then the recruits unloaded their tents, quilts and cooking utensils from the baggage trucks, and learned to set up tents and bury pots to cook under the guidance of veterans.

The recruits first carried the grain and grass, and now they were so busy that they settled on their own, spinning like a spinning top for most of the day without stopping for a moment, and several frail people were so tired that they couldn't straighten their waists.

But if his subordinates are a little slow, the fire chief's angry rebuke and even the whip will be swung up, and there is no room for slackness, and no one dares to be lazy and talk back.

On the first day of their arrival, all the recruits were complaining together in their hearts.

Xue Shao and Niu Ben were incorporated into the same fire, both of them were strong and very neat, and they were much faster than the recruits of other fires. Therefore, Huo Chang's face also looked a little better.

Fire is the smallest establishment in the Tang Army barracks, with ten people per fire, which is equivalent to a "squad" in the modern army. There were eight recruits and two veterans in the fire, and the veterans were, of course, the lead fire captain and the deputy fire chief. This is not an official "officer", let alone a rank, but their majesty is also not allowed to be offended or blasphemed, otherwise they will be charged with "contradicting the official" and will not be able to eat and walk around.

Discipline in the Tang army is very strict, compared to the intrigue in the officialdom and the policies and countermeasures under the policy, the army is a typical official who crushes people to death, and the authority of the officer is 100% absolute.

It is a felony to disobey the military order of the officer!

Otherwise, it is impossible to "order and prohibit".

Dinner consisted of porridge cooked with corn mixed with millet and a spoonful of pickles per person. Dinner in the army is like this, you can only eat thin and not too full, otherwise you can't sleep well at night and affect your physical strength the next day.

Xue Shao really hadn't eaten such a shoddy diet when he came to Datang, but everything he ate was fragrant when he was hungry, and he wanted to split this bowl from the middle and lick it clean.

Everyone is sweaty and dirty, and you want to take a shower? No need to talk!

Water is a precious resource in the army, and the waterwheels go with the army, and the water is only available for drinking. Unless it is a high-ranking officer, it is too normal for the march to go out without a shower for half a year. Unless the army is stationed near the water, the average sergeant has the opportunity to take a bath in the river and wash his clothes.

After eating, Xue Shao and the other seven recruits packed up the tableware and other things of the fire, and then they were driven into the tent and listened to the fire chief talk about military law. All the recruits had one thing on their minds - could we lie down and listen?

After most of the day's heavy physical labor, the recruits were almost unstable on their feet.

Xue Shao is far more physically fit and adaptable than the average recruit. But he also felt a little overdrawn.

He knew in his heart that the hardships of the march had unveiled the tip of the iceberg.

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